You are not alone
by Soofija
Summary: Christine chooses the Phantom in the end, and Raoul, of course, is heartbroken. But with some help from Meg, he slowly begins to recover.
1. Prologue

**Author's notes:** This story is based on the 2004 ALW movie. It's a while since I saw it, so the details in this chapter may be wrong, but be patient with me lol The next chapter will be up soon, I hope. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this chapter, or any of the characters in it, but later on, I own the story, because it's my idea. But from the beginning, this wonderful, wonderful story belong to Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have to thank them for my future fame lol

And I also have to say that the lyriclines in this chapter aren't mine. They belong toAndrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. I hope they don't mind that I use them lol

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**Prologue**

When people asked Raoul what'd happened in the fifth cellar of the Opera Populaire, he could never answer. He didn't remember, couldn't tell wether the story he told people was true, or a child of his imagination.

Sometimes, in the dark of the night, alone in his cold bed, Raoul could remember the fear when the rope had been drawn around his neck, The Phantom's voice, on the verge of insanity, calling to Christine to choose between them. He sometimes saw her face in his dreams, saw her eyes as they travelled from The Phantom to Raoul and back again.

He never remembered it afterwards, but at night, his dreams were often visited by the scenes from that night. That night when he'd lost the love of his life to a murderer and a monster.

The dreams always started at the same place, when he stood tightly bound to the bars of the gate, water to his waist, a rope around his neck. The Phantom was on his right, pulling the rope, saying to Christine in a low and threatening voice:

"You try my patience. Make your choice."

Christine had been standing in front of them, dressed in a soaking weddingdress. Raoul had been sure she would choose her Angel just to save his, Raoul's, life. But then she'd began to sing, her voice more filled with emotions than ever before, and The Phantom had let go off the rope, pulled towards her by her song.

"_Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of world have you known? God, give mer courage to show you, you are not alone."_

Raoul had seen Christine put her arms around The Phantom's neck, and then she'd kissed him. The Phantom's arms had gone around her waist and he'd pulled her closer to him.

Raoul had closed his eyes, not wanting to see the scene in front of him._ It's an act, she's doing it to save me._ Those words had been drumming inside his head, but even so, he'd known they weren't true.

He'd heared The Phantom sob against Christine's shoulder, and then the sound of splashing water had made Raoul open his eyes. The Phantom had rushed to his sides and began untying the ropes.

"Take her, forgive me, forget all of this."

He'd then rushed up on the shore and pulled the lever that controlled the gate. The gate behind Raoul had started to move upwards, causing the water to move in waves. Raoul had reached for Christine.

"Come on, darling, he's letting us go."

But she hadn't moved. She'd been standing looking at The Phantom, a calm expression dawning on her face.

"No." she'd said firmly, her voice echoing through the cave.

Both Raoul and The Phantom had stared at her. Raoul had moved to her side and touched her arm.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to stay here. We're free to go, come on."

But she still hadn't moved, only turned her gaze at Raoul.

"No." she'd said again. "I don't want to go. Heavens knows I love you, Raoul, but..." She'd once again looked at The Phantom. "It is here that my heart truly lies."

Raoul had backed away from her, hurt, angry, confused. She was staying! Staying with that...that...thing! Raoul had turned around and ran as fast as possible through the water. When he'd been outside the cave, he'd heared the gate close behind him. He'd then stopped and turned around. He'd seen The Phantom's lair through mist, which had made him feel as if he'd been in the middle of a dream. He'd seen The Phantom pick up a candelabra and smash it against one of the tall mirrors. The sound of the glass hitting the ground had reached Raoul's ears. He'd then seen the The Phantom take Christine's hand and lead her into the mirror. She hadn't once looked back.

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**Autor's notes: **REVIEW!


	2. The results

**Author's notes:** Sorry this has taken so long, and sorry it's such a short one too. But to make up for thatm I'm posting two chapters at the same time, hope you like them. Thanks so much for the reviews, they really made my day lol Keep'em coming!

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**Part I**

Raoul woke with a start and sat up in his bed. He remembered! He remembered that fatal night in The Phantom's lair, remembered every word spoken, every expression shown, every move made. He even remebered his dream from tonight, and what'd happened when the dream ended.

He'd ran through the water, swam when it'd become too deep, untill he'd reached the shore. People from the Opera had been standing there, unable to cross the lake without a boat. They'd pulled him out of the water and placed him on the hard stone of the dock, and then they'd started asking him questions, all at the same time. Raoul had felt his body go numb, a peaceful darkness lowering itself over his mind. From somewhere far away, he'd heared a woman yell.

"Let him be, you bastards, can't you see he's tired? François, Claude! Lift him and carry him upstairs!"

Raoul had been lifted up by strong arms and carried away. He'd wanted to thank the yelling woman, but the fearful events of the night had taken out their rights, and he'd fallen into unconsciousness.

When he'd come around again, he'd been lying in a bed, and someone had been cooling his forehead with a soaked towle. He'd slowly opened his eyes and seen Meg Giry sit beside him, holding the towle.

"Oh, you are awake again, Monsieur le Vicomte. How are you feeling?" Her eyes had been filled with concern as she'd put a cool hand on his forehead. "The fever is gone anyway." She'd rose from her chair and smoothed her skirts. "Can I get you anything, sir?"

Raoul had tried to say he'd like something to drink, but his voice had only been a hoarse whisper.

"Drink," he'd managed to say, and then he'd closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I should have thought about that before. What would you like? Water?"

Raoul had nodded, and then he'd heared the rustle of Meg's skirts as she'd went to get him the water.

When she'd come back, she'd helped him put pillows behind his back so he'd been able to sit up and drink. The water had made his voice come back, and he'd asked: "Where am I?"

"You are in Maman's appartment in the Opera. It was not harmed by the fire, so we thought it best to bring you here."

Raoul's memory hadn't been working as it should, and, confused, he'd asked: "The fire?"

Meg had nodded and sat down on her chair by his bed.

"Yes, the crash of the chandelier made the seats in the auditorium catch fire."

"Was...was anyone hurt?" Raoul had thought Meg to be strangely calm, but her eyes had been very sad, shining with tears.

"Yes, the people who were sitting immediately under the chandelier lost there lives, and..."

"How many?" Raoul had interrupted.

"22, sir. May their souls rest in peace," she'd added, crossing herself. "And many others were hit by flying glass and material from the roof and so on, and some people got burns. And of course poor Señor Piangi."

Raoul had known that The Phantom had taken Piangi's place in _Don Juan Triumphant_, but when he'd run after Christine, he'd forgotten everything else. He hadn't wanted to think about what The Phantom might have done to Piangi, but, still, he'd asked Meg how Señor Piangi was doing, hoping that the answer would be he was fine. But Meg had sighed, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"He isn't at all, the poor man. The snare they found him hanging in had broken his neck. He was beyond all saving. La Carlotta is devastated, I think she actually loved him."

Raoul had lent back against the pillows, closing his eyes. These were bad news. The Phantom's merciless hunt for Christine had gotten worse consequences than anyone had ever thought. _How will this opera ever recover?_ Raoul thought darkly.

With an effort, he'd composed himself, opening his eyes and looking at Meg.

"Is there anything else I should know? What damage was made to the Operahouse?"

Meg had lent forward, resting her arms on the bed. "All though it is not as bad as it could have been, it is still very bad. The chandelier, of course, we will never be able to repair. Every single seat in the auditorium will have to be changed, because those that were not harmed by the fire are covered in aches, or were destroyed by the firemen's water. The stage-curtains caught fire and will also have to be changed. But, thankfully, the fire never reached the stage itself, or the rest of the theater. I do not know that much about money, Monsieur, but I imagine this will not cost as much as we first thought." She had looked at her hands. "But there are some bad news as well."

_As if I haven't heared enough bad news for one day,_ Raoul'd thought. But he'd wanted to hear everything, even if it ment he'd go insane.

"Please continue, Meg," he'd said.

"We have had a great loss on staff, Monsieur. Almost half the members of the chorus and the corps de ballet have handed in their resigns, and we've lost both out leading tenor and soprano, and..." She'd abruptly stopped talking when she'd realized what she'd said. "I am so sorry, Monsieur, I was not thinking, please..."

But Raoul had held up a hand, which broke her off midsentence.

"I am still not feeling very well, Meg. I think I need rest. Will you be so kind as to leave me alone for a couple of hours, and making sure nobody disturbs me?"

Meg had nodded and risen from her chair, understanding what he didn't say.

"If you need me, I will be outside, Monsieur." And with that, she left the room, silently closing the door behind her.


	3. The Opera and Meg Giry

**Author's notes:** I know, I know, this was not up yesterday, as I promised. So sue me! It's up now, so what are you complaining about? Anyway, I hope you like it, and please, don't forget to REVIEW!

**Disclaimer: **I have taken the liberty to, once again, use lyriclines in my story, this time from "All I ask of you". Unnescessary to say, and sadly, they don't belong to me. They belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and I, once again, hope they don't mind.

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**Part II**

Raoul had been lost in his thoughts of the past, and was pulled back to the present by a clock striking. Half past nine. He was to be in a meeting with Messieurs André and Firmin at the Opera at ten o'clock, and here he was sitting, still in bed.

He quickly got dressed and ran down to the kitchen, almost knocking the maid over in the stairs. The cook was standing by the stove, making his breakfast.

"Good morning, Madame DuPont. Is my breakfast ready? I am in a hurry."

"Of course, Monsieur le Vicomte. You can go out and sit in the dining room, sir, and I will be right out."

Raoul sat down at the table, and when the cook delivered his breakfast, he asked her to tell the driver to roll out his carriage. He then hastely ate his breakfast, hardly noticing how exquisite it was, put on his hat and cloak and ran out the front door.

"The Opera, please, quickly," he said to the driver who held the door for him, and merely seconds later, they were on their way.

* * *

The fire that had made so much damage in the auditorium had not harmed its façade. It still looked like it had when Raoul got here not many months ago. To watch Christine sing... 

He impatiently waved the memories away and quickly walked up the stairs and in through the doors. The foyer hadn't been hurt by the fire either, and looked as marvelous as ever. He was met in the stairs by the two operamanagers, Messieurs André and Firmin.

"Gentlemen, I am terribly sorry to be late. I hope I have not kept you waiting?"

"Certainly not, my dear Vicomte," Monsieur André said with a smile. "We have keepen ourselfs busy."

"Good," Raoul said and continued climbing the stairs, leading the wayto their offices. "Then let us get down to business."

Well inside Monsieur Firmin's office, Raoul took off his hat and cloak and sat down in a chair. Monsieur Firmin sat down behind his desk, and Monsieur André in a chair beside Raoul.

"We are very relieved that you and your parents still want to finance our Opera, Monsieur," André began. "After that terrible incident two weeks ago, we feared we would be ruined, but as it looks now, we will be able to solve this mess. And it will not be too expensive either," he finished with a content smile.

Monsieur Firmin lent forward, resting his arms on his desk. "And now, sir, we of course wonder how much you are willing to pay for the reapirs." He looked much more worried than his colleague.

"We are prepared to give you as much money as you will need, Messieurs. But I would very much like to know what they will be used for, and what other plans you have for the Opera's future."

The two managers looked very relieved at these news, and immediately began telling their plans for the Opera-house.

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Two hours later, Raoul left the office, very pleased with how the meeting had turned out. The managers had wanted to basically just throw out the old auditorium and replace it with a new one, but Raoul had managed to convince them that there were cheaper alternatives. Those might take longer to implement, but that would give the managers more time to decide on which opera they would perform next, and to hire a new staff. The latter should not be a problem though, because there were many unemployed singers and dancers among the streets of Paris. _With any luck, we will have a new performance up in a month,_ Raoul thought, content. 

While he made his way through the Opera's corridors towards the foyer, his thoughts went back to his days here with Christine. He remembered how they had walked these corridors in the afternoons, holding hands, talking about the night's performance. How he sometimes had pulled her into a dark corner and kissed her breathless, how she'd trembled in his arms, begging him both to stop and continue.

Raoul suddenly felt a terrible urge to slam his head against the wall, and he stopped walking and lent against it. Why was he torturing himself with these thoughts, when they were nothing but memories? Why wouldn't his mind listen to him and forget?

On his left, Raoul saw a door. Not wanting to go back to his house with nothing but the maid for company, he opened the door and walked into the empty remains of the auditorium.

As he looked around the damaged room, he remembered a night, not so very long ago, when this room had been filled with people, who had given Christine standing ovations as she'd sung _Think of me_. Raoul had been the one applauding the most, then he'd run down the corridors to be able to congratulate her.

Without noticing it, he'd sat down in a seat, and was staring at the spot where Christine had been standing. But as he slowly came back to reality, the scene from _Hannibal_ disappeared, and instead was the one of _Don Juan Triumphant_. No-one had removed the set, and it still stood there, just as it had done when The Phantom had brought Christine, and Raoul, down into "Hell".

Suddenly Raoul rose from the chair and ran down the aisle, the dust whirling behind him. He ran up on the stage, out in the backstage area, up the stairs. He ran from the memories, ran from the sounds of the past. Out on the roof and over to the edge. There he stopped, panting, looking out over Paris' rooftops. The music that had haunted him in the auditorium had disappeared, and the images too, but in their places was another song, whose lyric Raoul knew very well. He started singing to the music in his heart.

"_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you here, beside you."_ His voice turned into a whisper. _"Say you love me..."_ Tears had began rolling down his cheeks, and he slid down to the ground and buried his face in his hands. _"Anywhere you go, let me go too...love me, that's all I ask of you."_

As Raoul sat on the ground, he heared the door open behind him. He heared the rustle of skirts and felt a light hand on his shoulder.

"Monsieur le Vicomte? Are you all right, sir?"

Raoul turned his head and saw Meg Giry stand behind him. Her eyes were worried, and they widened a little at the sight of Raoul's tears. He quickly turned his head away, embarrassed. He felt her hesitantly lift her hand off his shoulder and turn around to leave, but suddenly he didn't want to be left alone.

"Mademoiselle Giry, please, stay with me," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I would rather not be alone right now."

He heared her turn around again and slowly sit down beside him. And then she, too his surprise, hesitantly put her hand in his and squeezed it gently. He returned the gesture as he unseeingly gazed out over the city.

"I remember once, not long after I got here," he said, just as much to himself as to Meg. "It was in the middle of the performing of _Hannibal_. The show of that evening was about to start, and Christine was nowhere to be found. Everybody was searching for her, some thought she had been taken by the Opera Ghost again. But it was I who found her. She was standing up here, singing lullabies to herself. She did not have any idea of what time it was, and when I asked her what she was doing, she simply said: 'Watching the stars, and thanking my father for sending me my Angel of Music'." He fell silent, not knowing what he'd ment by telling Meg this story, thinking he'd made a fool out of himself.

But Meg didn't say anything. She just held his hand and looked out over Paris.

They sat there in friendly silence for quite some time, untill the cold of the February-day reached them. Raoul picked up his hat and helped Meg to her feet.

"How come you came up, Mademoiselle?" he asked.

"I was wandering the backstage area when I heared someone running in the stairs. No-one was supposed to be back there, so I wanted to know who it was. I promise, Monsieur, it was not my intention to follow you personally." She smiled and crossed the roof to the door. Raoul quickly followed and held it for her. They descended the stairs in silence, and walked through the backstage area towards the dormitory of the corps the ballet.

"Monsieur, if I may ask...what were you doing up on the roof?" Meg hesitantly asked .

"Running from my memories," Raoul said after a while. "I have not remembered anything at all from that night untill this morning, when I remembered everything. And to add to that, returning to the Opera...it just became to much..."

They'd reached the door to Meg's room, and she hesitated with her hand on the doorknob.

"Monsieur...I am probably not in the position to say this, but...if you ever need to talk, about anything, you can come to me. You know where to find me."

Raoul watched in silence as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. Yes, he knew where to find her. But the one he wanted to find was Christine.


	4. Down once more

**Author's notes:** I know, this took a while, but it's a REALLY long one, so I'm forgiven, right? I hope you like it, I do lol

And I just have to mention that it's my younger brother who came up with the title for this chapter. It's a lyric line from POTO, and it really amazed me that he knew that, and it amazes me even more that it fits so good to the contents of this chapter. Well, anyway, thanks **Little Man**, for the help.

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**Part III**

The following two weeks passed by slowly. Raoul was trying hard to get back into his life, the life he'd had before _Don Juan Triumphant_. He thought himself that he was doing quite well. He went to dinners almost every night, he talked and joked and laughed and pretended he'd never known anyone named Christine Daaé. His friends were kind and understanding most of the time. They didn't ask any questions, and they avoided talking about the scandal of the Opera Populaire. Raoul knew they talked about him behind his back, but he didn't care as long as ha didn't have to participate in the conversation. And he didn't, except for once.

It was at a dinnerparty three weeks after _Don Juan Triumphant_. The guests were all seated at the table, half way through dinner, when a woman named Madame Buvois fixed her grey eyes upon Raoul.

"Monsieur le Vicomte, I believe I recall another dinner some weeks ago, when you brought along a very nice girl, Mademoiselle Daaé, I believe was her name. I liked her very much, sir, whatever happened to her?"

The whole table fell silent, no-one moved a muscle. Raoul knew everybody was looking at him, but he only looked into Madame Buvois' eyes, his face expressionless, his eyes cold.

"I am afraid I do not know that, Madame. And if I did know, it would not be any of your business."

He quickly excused himself, left the table and went outside. He inhaled deep of the cold nightair. _Damn in!_ he thought. _I should not have reacted that way. I could have avoided this scene._

But no, he couldn't have. As soon as Madame Buvois had mentioned Christine, Raoul had stopped thinking rationally. All he'd wanted to do was stop that conversation right there and then.

"Raoul." His brother Michel came out on the terrace, but Raoul didn't turn around. "Was not that a bit unnecessary? You know as well as I do that Madame Buvois is...less than she used to be. She has probably not even heared about the Opera."

Raoul sighed. "But you know I cannot stand talking about...that. It is too soon."

"I know." Michel came over and put his arm around Raoul's shoulders. "But you have to come inside now. It will not happen again, I think Pierre asked her to leave."

Raoul shrugged his shoulders and let his older brother lead him inside.

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Two days later, a Sunday, Raoul went with his mother to church. It wasn't something he did very often, but his mother had asked him to come, so he did. 

Afterwards they went for a walk in Paris. Raoul knew his mother to be very straightforward, and he feared she would bring up the subject of Christine. And he didn't have to wait long before she did.

"Raoul, darling, I know you are still mourning Christine, but..."

"Mother," Raoul interrupted. "She is not dead, even though that might have been better, so please, do not say mourn."

"Very well, darling, I will not." His mother patted his arm she was holding. "But what I want to say is I think you should start looking at other young women. Now that Christine is gone, it will not do for you to be seen alone for too long. People will talk."

Raoul sighed. "Moter, people always talk. And I do not want another woman. Not yet."

"Yes, I know, sweet, but will you not..."

"Mother, no!" Raoul didn't like using a harsh tone towards his mother, but sometimes it was necessary.

They walked in silence for a while, then Raoul spotted Meg Giry walking towards them. She was eyeing what Raoul supposed was a shoppinglist, and her arms were full of parcels.

"Good day, Mademoiselle Giry," Raoul said, starting her.

"Good day, Monsieur le Vicomte." She curtsied to him, and then turned to his mother and did the same. "Madame la Vicomtesse, I presume."

The vicomtesse nodded. "And you must be Meg Giry. I really love you dancing, Mademoiselle."

"Thank you, Madame." Meg blushed slightly.

"I did not know you were so well acquainted with my son. Have you met many times before?"

Raoul had barely paid attention to their conversation before, but at that question, he was abruptly woken from his memories of Christine and him walking along this very street. He heared what his mother asked, and it worried him very much. Meg couldn't possibly be as mean as to tell his mother about that embarrassing incident on the roof, could she? He caught her eyes for a brief moment, and mutely begged her not to say anything. Meg bent her head slightly, a barely perceptable nod, and then looked at Raoul's mother again.

"We met quite a few times before Christmas, Madame, and about a week ago at the Opera, I believe Monsieur was there in a meeting?" She looked at Raoul, and he nodded hastly.

"Well, we shall let you return to your shopping, Mademoiselle." Raoul knew his mother could be very restless, and he thought that her reason for ending the conversation was that she was growing tired of it. "I hope we will see you dancing again soon?"

"As soon as the Opera is ready, Madame." Meg smiled and curtsied to them, and they parted ways.

"She seems very nice, Raoul," his mother said when they were out of earshot from Meg. "Why do you not invite her to supper one night? I would very much like to get to know her."

Raoul sighed. His mother was obsessed with the thought of him marrying.

"Perhaps, Mother," he said and tried not to sound too tired. "Perhaps."

* * *

On Thuesday, Raoul was once again summoned to the Opera by the mannagers. The repairs were proceeding, and everywhere were builders running around. Messieurs André and Firmin were very delighted and could not stop smiling. 

"We are moving along very nicely, think you not, Monsieur le Vicomte?" Monsieur André said and lit a cigar. "Now all we need is an audience."

Mosieur Firmin laughed. "We have no opera to perform yet, André, and already you are dreaming about full houses."

"What are you planning on performing, Messieurs?" Raoul asked curiously.

"We are thinking along the ways of _Carmen_, or perhaps _Orfeus in the Underworld_," Frimin said enthusiastically. "And after that we would like a ballet. Since Madame Giry is still working for us, not to say with us, the ballet will remain excellent."

Raoul nodded, a little bit hesitately. _Carmen_ was maybe not the right thing to start off with, but he wouldn't argue the managers decisions. It was their Operahouse. All he could do was hope they'd choose _Orfeus_ instead.

He focused on the more evident matters. "Gentlemen, may I ask of which reason you have called me here today?"

"Oh, forgive us, my dear Vicomte, of course you may ask." André put his cigar down in a marble ashtray. "We asked you to come here today because we have a bit of a problem."

Raoul raised his eyebrows.

"We do not know what to do with the entrance to The Phantom's domains, Monsieur," Firmin continued. "We are planning on sealing it, but then we thought, parhaps you would want to look at it, sir. At The Phantom's lair."

Raoul was surprised, almost chocked. Returning to The Phantom's lair? Seeing that place which held so many painful memories again? The thought was repulsive! But if he took the thought one step further? If he actually went there? He'd might perhaps find something telling him where The Phantom had brought Christine. That thought excited him.

"I think I would like to see that place, yes," he said to the managers. "Perhaps even today...?"

"Certainly, Monsieur le Vicomte. Straight away, sir." Monsieur André was clearly very relieved that Raoul had excepted the idea so calmly.

The manager led the way out of the office and through the corridors. When they came to a very solid, not frequently opened door, he stopped.

"This is the entrance, sir. Would you like me to accompany you...?"

"Is it safe to go down there now?" Raoul opened the heavy door and looked behind it.

"Yes, I assure you, Monsieur, it is quite safe." Monsieur André didn't seem very eager to enter. He'd taken a step backwards as Raoul'd opened the door.

Raoul closed the door again. "Then I think I know just who I want to accompany me."

* * *

_Why Meg?_ Raoul thought as he alone walked through the corridors towards her room. _Why do I want this girl who I barely know to come with me down there? Why did I not just pick the first builder I saw?_

There were no answers to those questions. He'd just gotten a feeling that she was the right person to bring, and he'd followed that feeling without thinking.

Before he knew it, he was standing outside her door. He drew a deep breath and knocked before he could stop himself. Meg opened almost immediately, and when she saw Raoul, her jaw dropped. But she quickly remembered herself and curtsied to him.

"Monsieur le Vicomte. What can I do for you, sir?"

Raoul suddenly hesitated. He was about to ask her if she'd like to follow him down to the Opera Ghost's lair. She would, without a doubt, think he was insane.

But then, she had asked him to come to her if he needed to talk. This wasn't exactly talking, but Raoul thought it counted. He once again drew a deep breath and said:

"Mademoiselle Giry, please do not doubt my sanity when you hear what I have to say. I am fully aware that it sounds completely crazy, but..." He broke off, studying the look in her face. She was looking at him with her head bent a little to the right, a curious but not patronizing look in her eyes. "Will you accompany me to the fifth cellar, Mademoiselle?"

Her reaction was not how he'd expected it to be. She just kept her calm expression and nodded slightly.

"I am flattered that you ask me of all people to do this, Monsieur. Do you want to leave right away, sir?"

Raoul was so surprised that, at first, he didn't say anything, he just stared at her. But when he saw an amused smile form at the corners of her lips, he quickly composed himself and nodded. Meg pulled a key from the lock on the inside of the door, then she came out, closed the door behind her and locked it. When she turned around to face him, and at the same time slipped the key into her pocket, Raoul eyed her up and down. _She is actually quite pretty,_ he thought. _But she is not as beautiful as Christine._

When Meg once again looked up at him, he quickly pushed the unwelcome thoughts of Christine from his mind. He offered his arm to Meg and they walked in silence towards the cellardoor.

They were still silent when they reached the docks of the fifth cellar. Two police officers were stationed there, guarding a boat, in case The Phantom would dare to come back. Raoul helped Meg into the boat and she sat down in the front while he himself started poleing through the tunnels of the lake. Meg was still silent, and Raoul wondered why she didn't say anything. She hadn't even asked what they were doing down here, or why he'd asked her to come. Perhaps she was too polite. Or shy.

"Meg?" Raoul said before he could stop himself, and she turned around. "May I call you 'Meg'?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Well,I wonder...why have you not asked me what we are doing down here? Or why I asked you come?"

Meg smiled slightly. "I do not think it is any of my business what you are doing down here, Monsieur. I believe you have your reasons, and I will let you keep them to yourself. And I did ask you to come to me, Monsieur, and I am flattered that you actually remember that."

Raoul nodded. Thosewere reasonable explanations.

As they passed under the gate and into the Opera Ghost's home, Raoul wondered what on Earth he was doing back here. The sight of the gate, the dock, everything, made cool shivers run down his spine. Surely nothing could be worth the sacrifice of returning here? But yes, Christine was worth it. For Christine he would go to hell and back and endure all the pains it had to bring. He would DIE for her if he had to!

The boat hit the dock and abruptly woke Raoul from his thoughts. He jumped out and tied a rope to a pole, then he helped Meg out. She smiled thankfully at him, and then she turned and looked around the cave.

"Monsieur, a little light would do no harm," she said and looked at Raoul and smiled.

Raoul looked around him and found a candelabra on a table. He quickly lit it with matches from his pockets, and then held it up so Meg could see the whole cave in light. Her eyes widened, and Raoul could really understand why. Despite all his loathing for The Phantom, Raoul had to admit that he had a magnificent home.

Meg slowly walked along the dock, lightly touching the furniture. Raoul followed her with the candelabra in his hand, lifting it high above his head so it litted up the whole cave. Meg stopped beside a big pipeorgan covered with sheetmusic. She lightly stroke her fingers over the keys and pressed a few. The sound echoed through the cave. She picked up a sheet and studdied the writing, then she looked at Raoul.

"Do you mind if I try and play this, Monsieur?" she asked.

Raoul shoke his head. He litted a candle by the organ for her, and she sat down. Raoul then picked up the candelabra again and proceeded further into the cave. Soon, The Phantom's music, a slow and sad melody, played by Meg floated through the rooms.

For every room Raoul passed, he became more and more fascinated by the man who had lived down here, the man that he should hate. Madame Giry had been right, The Phantom was a genious. A very well educated man, judging by the hundreds of books in various subjects covering the many shelves, and he had a special talent for music, even Raoul understood that. _It is a shame that the world will never know this great music,_ he reluctantly admitted as the piece Meg was playing reached it's end. She immediately began playing something new, more dramatic this time.

Raoul had now reached a wall that was covered by a deep red curtain. Something was telling him to leave this room undiscovered, but his curiousity took over, and he pulled back the curtain. The candelabra hit the ground with a loud "plonk", and Raoul gave an involuntarly cry.

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**Author's notes:** REVIEW!


	5. Hold me now, don't cry

**Author's notes:** I am so sorry this has taken so long, but I've been visiting a friend in Germany, which was nice, except for the weather. Anyway, the chapter's up, and I hope you like it, I do. No, I love it, it's one of the best in this story I think. And I want to send a thanks to many other POTO-writers, from whom I think I've stolen a few things here and there. So, thank you, so much!

And, for my **PDT**: Min raring, vad gjorde jag utan dig, gumman? Alexander Kyckling, haha

Enjoy!

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**Part IV**

"Raoul, what is wrong?"

He didn't even notice that she called him by his first name, and he didn't answer her question. He just pointed at the room that had been covered by the curtain, and then heared Meg draw a deep breath and clutch her hand over her mouth.

The room in front of them was covered in paintings of Christine, clearly painted by The Phantom. Most of them were innocent, merely showing Christine in everyday life at the Opera. But some of them were absolutely hideous. _He must have painted these out of his imagination,_ Raoul thought as he dared glance up at the pictures, not wanting to think that Christine had been posing for such horrid motives.

The paintings showed Christine in various positions, lying on the bed, on the floor by the fire, standing in front of the lake, in everything from fully dressed to totally naked. The pictures, even Raoul had to admit, would have been beautiful, if it hadn't been for the look of raw passion and need in Christine's eyes. Raoul had only seen that look upon her face once before. During the performance of _Don Juan Triumphant_.

And still, the paintings weren't the worst. In the middle of the room was a statue of Christine in natural size. To Raoul, seeing that statue had been like coming face to face with his fiancé once again.

Meg rose and forced Raoul to his feet. "I think you have had enough of this place, Monsieur."

She pulled at his hands, trying to make him walk back to the boat, but Raoul didn't move. He just stared at the statue in the room. It looked so like Christine. He moved his gaze to the paintings, the bad ones._ This woman could have been my wife,_ he thought. _She could have been looking at me with that look in her eyes, she could have lain like that in my arms._

He slowly began to shiver, and the shivers turned into shakings. Someone was sobbing, and then he realized it was himself. Then Meg was standing in front of him, and she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"Calm yourself, Monsieur!"

She then took his hand again and pulled him towards the boat. Raoul followed her, unable to act on his own. She gently pushed him into the boat, blew out the candles they'd lit, and then she poled the boat out of the cave.

When they reached the docks on the other side of the lake, where the police officers were standing, Raoul drew a deep breath. When they hit the dock, he got out before Meg, tied the boat to a pole and helped her out. He placed her arm under his, and, pretending he was leading her, he lent against her, and they walked up the stairs.

Meg didn't say anything, didn't ask anything. She simply led him to her room. Raoul managed to stay calm untill she'd closed and locked the door behind them. But when she looked up at him, her baby blue eyes wide with worry, he cracked. He reached for her hand, needing to feel the presence of someone else, and she walked towards him. He fell to his knees, without strength to stand upright, and buried his face in her skirts and sobbed loudly. Meg caressed his hair and mumbled softly, not words, just soothing whispers.

Raoul had no idea how long they remained like that, but Meg didn't say anything. She just held him close to her, as if he'd been a small child. When his sobs finally died away, and he didn't have any more tears to cry, he reluctantly let go off her waist and rose to his feet. He didn't dare look Meg in the eye, he was suddenly overwhelmed by shame. Instead he looked around her room, searching for something to talk about.

"Raoul, look at me." Meg's voice was soft and gentle, and he looked at her. "You do not have to be embarrassed in front of me." She smiled and touched his cheek.

Raoul didn't know what made him do it, what made him trust Meg, but he reached up and took her hand, and then he brought it to his lips and kissed the palm.

"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

For some reason, Raoul stayed on Meg's room for the rest of the evening. She brought him and herself dinner from the diningroom, and they ate it on the floor in front of the fireplace. Raoul found that being in Meg's company was exactly what he needed, and, to his surprise, his found it very easy to talk to her. He never spent time with "the lower classes", as his sister called them (which usually ment everybody without a title). The only one he'd really ever talked to was Christine, but, somehow, she'd been different. 

When Meg returned the dirty dishes to the kitchen, and Raoul was left alone in her room, he felt himself become drowsy. Him and Meg hadn't made any plans for the night, but somehow Raoul had taken for granted that she'd let him spend the night. Now he wondered, in that case, where on Earth he was going to sleep. There was only one bed in the room, but perhaps she had a spare one?

As he waited for Meg to return, he felt himself grow more and more tired, and the bed looked irresistably tempting. He rose from the floor. He would just lay down for a few moments and rest his eyes before Meg came back.

* * *

Meg was softly humming the tune of Pachelbel's _Canon_, which the orchestra had been playing that day, as she made her way back to her room. She felt very at ease with everything, and she couldn't understand why. She should be feeling worried after what had happened that afternoon in The Phantom's lair, but Raoul had seemed to calm down once they where in her room, and the evening had been a very pleasant one. 

She reached her room and went inside, and, as a simple habit, she locked the door behind her. She turned around, excpecting to find Raoul in front of the fire, but he wasn't there. The fire was fading, leaving the room in darkness, and for a brief moment, Meg thought that Raoul had left. But his cloak was still hanging on its hook by the door.

She proceeded further into the room, and suddenly she saw a dark form move on her bed. She slowly moved over to it, and she saw it was Raoul, lying fully dressed and fast asleep on top of her covers. When Meg saw him lying there, she felt how tired she was. She didn't have the heart to wake Raoul up, and there was only one bed in the room. She sighed. That left her with only one option.

Hesitantly she sat down on the edge of her bed and watched Raoul sleep. He was lying in the middle of the bed, and Meg wondered how on Earth she was going to be able to lay down without wakening him up. Slowly she lent down and placed herself at his side, her head next to his on the pillow.

This was a new experience to Meg. The only one she'd ever shared a bed with before was her mother, and sometimes she'd laid beside Christine, comforting her when she longed for her father. But she'd never laid beside a man before. She was trying not to breath to much, she thought it might wake him up, and she tried to make herself as small as possible. After a few moments, her eyelids beganto feel heavy, but just when she thought she'd fall asleep, Raoul moved in his sleep, and his arm landed across her waist.

Meg's eyes opened with a start, and her first thought was to climb out of the bed as fast as she could. But she'd worked so hard with lying down without wakening Raoul up, and moving now, when they were pressed so tightly together, would most certainly wake him. And, on second thought, his arm around her, and his breathing against her neck, was quite comfortable. She felt warm and safe, and it didn't take her long to fall asleep.

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**Author's notes:** REVIEW!


	6. In your dreams

**Author's notes:** I have nothing to excuse this time, because the chapter's up when I want it to, so I'm going to do something I haven't done ina while. Thank my lovely reviewers. It really warms my author's heart when I read what you've written to me, and you really keep me going. I'm just sorry to have to disappoint some of you. There isn't going to be any Erik or Christine in this. Of course they're mentioned every now and then, because Raoul is still living in the past, but I haven't planned for them to be in in person. Sorry, but please keep reading lol

**Disclaimer: **Thought it might be time for one of these. I don't own Raoul, Meg, the Managers or anyone else who's in the story from the beginning, but I own my ideas, and Raoul's family.

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**Part V**

Raoul was woken the next morning by the sun shining in his eyes. _It must be early_, he thought and turned his head away from the sunbeam. Without opening his eyes he tried to analyse the situation, tried to make his confused head work.

He was lying in a bed, but it wasn't his own, and he couldn't remember how he got there. In fact, he couldn't remember anything at all. All he was aware of was how warm and relaxed he felt, and that he had another body pressed against him. A small and slender woman's body.

He pulled her closer to him and buried his face in her hair, breathing in her sweet scent and placing a kiss on her neck. He thought he might have said something, but it could have been his imagination.

* * *

Meg had been awake for a while, since the sun had started shining in through her one window, but she'd felt so comfortable she hadn't wanted to move. The moment she'd woken up, she'd felt Raoul's arms around her, and his body pressed against her back. But to her surprise, she hadn't felt neither guilt nor shame. She'd just felt unnaturally relaxed, and...loved, for some unexplainable reason. So instead of wakening Raoul up and ask him to leave before the rest of the Opera woke up, she'd just lain there, enjoying a moment that would probably never come again.

Meg listened to Raoul's breathing, and she heared him wake up. _That was it_, she thought. _Now he will have to leave._ She prepared herself to get out of bed, but then Raoul pulled her closer to him and buried his face in her hair. _He is dreaming_, Meg thought. _He must be dreaming, or else he would not be doing this._ But she hoped he was awake, oh, how she hoped he was.

She felt him place a kiss on her neck.It sent shivers down her spine, andshe was suddenly sized by a mad desire to turn around and press her lips against his.

"Christine." The whisper was so silent and so soft she could have dreamed it.

* * *

When Raoul woke up again he felt rested, and the horrors of last night were miles away. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Meg's hair. He was lying with his back pressed against the wall, and Meg's small form gathered tightly against his chest. She was still sleeping, her hand holding his shirt. It surprised him, because he couldn't recall when she'd lain down next to him. But it was none the less pleasant to wake up in this position.

Raoul threw a glance at the clock on Meg's nightstand. It was nine. _Not too late_, Raoul thought. But he would still have to leave soon. It would be very embarrassing for both of them if he was seen.

He looked down at Meg. She looked so young, much younger than she was. He couldn't possibly wake her up. Silently he climbed out of bed. He went to her dresser, found paper and a pen and wrote her a letter. Then he took his cloak from the hook on the wall and went over to Meg on the bed. He placed the letter on her nightstand and then he he looked down at the woman on the bed.

She was still sleeping, her blonde curls like a halo around her head on the pillow, her chest rising and falling along with her calm breathing. _Like an angel, _Raoul thought and bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

* * *

Meg was woken by the closing of a door. She opened her eyes and sat up. The bed was empty, as were the room. Raoul was gone. But he'd left a note, she saw. She reached out and took it from the nightstand, where he'd lent it against a vase with roses.

_My dearest Meg,_

_I am so sorry to leave without wakening you, but it is still early, and I have to go._

_Thank you for last night! Your wonderful company was just what I needed, and I would like to repay you in one of the few was I know how to. My parents are hosting a dinnerparty on Friday this week, and I would be very honoured to have you as my lady._

_I fully understand if you say no, but I hope you will accept. I quite enjoy spending time with you, Meg. But if I have not heared from you tomorrow evening, I take it you will accompany me, and I will wait for you in the Opera's foyer at five o'clock on Friday evening._

_Untill then, my dear friend,_

_Raoul_

_P.S/ The party is in my parents house outside of town, so bring a bag for the night.

* * *

_

All the way back to his townhouse, Raoul wondered if he'd done the right thing. Was it a wise move to invite Meg to dinner? What if she thought he intentions were other than honourable, and said no? Or what if she said yes? Raoul felt cold shivers run down his spine at that thought. If she accepted, he would acctually have to go through with this, or else he would lose his face. A gentleman never went back on his word!

But having her as his lady would surely bring up questions. Out loud, people would ask who she was, how they'd met, and silently, in whispering voices behind his back, they'd wonder if she was his mistress, or if she could perhaps be Christine's replacement.

Raoul tried to tell himself that he worried about these things for Meg's sake, but, truth to be told, he worried about what people would say about himself. He was so tired of being the one everybody talked about, but he doubted that bringing along a new girl would change that. But on the other hand, being alone brought up questions as well.

Raoul sighed and looked out through the carriage-window. It seemed as if everything he did made people talk. And when he thought about it, he really wanted Meg to come with him. He liked her.

The carriage came to a halt in front of his house, and Raoul climbed out before the drvier opened the door. He started walking towards the front door, but then he remembered that the carriage was hired, and went back and payed the driver.

When he was standing in his livingroom an hour later, wearing clean clothes, he suddenly felt very lonely, and his house felt very big and empty. He sighed and sat down in a armchair in front of the fire. His eyes caught sight of a photograph on the mantlepiece. The picture showed Christine on stage on the openingnight of _Hannibal_. Raoul rose from the chair and took down the picture. _My Christine_, he thought, and felt a lump in his throat. _My beautiful girl_. He heavily sat down in the chair again, and caressed the picture with his fingertips. A single tear fell from his eyes and spread across the glass on the picture of Christine.

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**Author's notes:** If anyone wonders, when Raoul wakes up the second time, he doesn't remember the first time, when he kissed Meg. He was half sleeping, and thought she was Christine, if you didn't get that lol

REVIEW!


	7. Introductions and nervousness

**Author's notes:** I know this took me a while to post, and it isn't very long. Ok, maybe it is, but it's not very fun, just a lot of in-between-stuff. But it's necessary for the story, the way I want it to be.

And I'm very disappointed about the reviews. Just one on the previous chapter, which I myself thought was really nice. Well, you have the chance to make that up to me now lol

And a big thank you and lots ofbig hugs to **Eruliss, **who wrote that one review. Keep them coming, honey, they make my day lol

Enjoy!

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**Part VI**

At five o'clock on Friday afternoon, Raoul was standing in the foyer of the Opera Populaire, more nervous than he'd ever been before. When he'd entered his carriage almost an hour before, his doubts about this evening had returned again, with full strength. He'd gotten so nervous he'd almoststepped out of the carriage and sent it empty to Paris, with a note to Meg with some prosaic excuse. But he hadn't. He'd been brought up to act like a gentleman, and to go back on his word would struggle against everything he'd ever learned

He looked at his pocketwatch for maybe the fourth time in five minutes. Where was she? He hadn't gotten any message from her saying she wouldn't join him, or that she'd be late, so she should be here by now. But where the devil was she then?

He suddenly heared the unmistakable sound of heels against marble, and looked at the top of the stairs. Meg was standing there, looking like an angle from a dream, stealing Raoul's breath away. She was wearing a dress in some sparkling, red material with a black cloak over and her hair was unbound. Raoul realized he liked it better that way.

Meg walked slowly down the stairs, and Raoul quickly composed himself. He hurried over to the foot of the stairs to meet her when she came down.

She stopped on the last step. When he was this close to her, and their eyes were at level, Raoul could see that she was a nervous about this as him, maybe more. This gave him comfort, and courage, enough to smile at her.

She smiled back, hesitantly, and Raoul said: "There is no need to be nervous, Meg, this is going to go great." He took the bag she was holding in one hand and offered his arm to her. "Ready?"

She nodded and took his arm, and they walked out the large front doors. Raoul's carriage rolled up, and he opened the door for her. Meg entered, and Raoul followed, and they sat down on opposite sides of the carriage. Meg was looking at her hands in her knee.

"What is expected of me tonight, Monsieur?" she asked, her voice betraying the nervousness she was trying to hide.

Raoul noticed that she once again was back to calling him "Monsieur". He sighed inwardly and moved over to sit next to her and took her hands.

"Meg, nothing is expected of you tonight, except that you stop calling me 'Monsieur' when it is just the two of us," he said and looked into her eyes.

"Allright, I will not call you 'Monsieur', if you stop lying to me. I think that a lot is expected of me tonight, and I do not want to embarrass you, so please tell me what I should do to avoid it."

Raoul almost burst out laughing at her bluntness, but he realized that she was right. A whole lot was expected of her, maybe not from him, but from everybody else. She was there because he had asked her too, she was there with him.

"Yes, you are right, everyone is expecting very much from you, but the only advice I can give you, Meg, is to be yourself. These people will judge you the moment they see you, and in most cases you will have a very hard time to change the impression they got later on. So just be yourself, stay at my arm all night and answer every question you get politly, and they will love you, I promise."

Meg smiled thinly, and Raoul reached out and stroked her cheek.

"If it makes you feel any better, I am as nervous as you are," he confessed. She raised an eyebrow. "Everytime I have been at one of these parties, people have wondered why I have been alone. The have not said anything, but I have seen in their faces what they have been thinking."

He could feel Meg still holding his hands and looking at him, even though he was not looking at her.

"But surely you most have many female friends, please do not get this the wrong way," Meg said. "Could you not just have brought along one of them?"

Raoul sighed and looked at her again. "It is not that simple, Meg. Among the people I associate with, it is not as easy as to just bring along a new girl, and every question is erased. They have an unwritten ruel. They have to approve of the poor girl, and if they don't, they will stop aprove of me too." Then he realized whar he'd just said. "I am sorry, Meg, I did not mean..."

"No, it is allright, I understand." She smiled at him. "I will try not to disappoint you, but I cannot promise anything."

He smiled back at her. _Perhaps this evening won't be all that bad,_ he thought.

After some time, the carriage finally came to a halt in front of Raoul's parent's home. The driver opened the door for Raoul, and he helped Meg out.

"Wow!" she said when she saw the house.

Raoul, who had lived there all his life, couldn't really see the impressing bit about it, but to someone who'd lived her whole life in an opera, this house was a castle.

"It looks like a house from a plantation in America," she said breathlessly.

Raoul laughed. "Have you been to one of those?"

"No, I have just seen them on pictures in books." Meg wasn't looking at him. She was staring at the house, head bent back to take in all of it at the same time. "Oh, look, you can see the stars out here," she breathed. "In Paris it is too light for that."

Raoul laughed again, and took her arm. "Come on now, starshine, people are waiting."

Meg immediately came down to Earth, looking nervous again. She took a deep breath and a firm grip around Raoul's arm. Then she nodded.

"Let the show begin."

They entered the house, and a maid immediately hurried over to take there coats. Raoul slipped Meg's off her shoulders, and then he took her hand.

"There is no turning back now," he mumured lightly, making her laugh. He placed her hand under his arm, and they proceeded into the drawing room. Raoul eyed the crowd to find his parents. They were stadning by the windows, talking to a man Raoul recognized as the mayor of Paris, Monsieur Legrand, and his wife.

His mother caught his eye, and he motioned to her to come over to them. He saw her whisper something to her husband, and they excused themselfs to the maire. When they reached Raoul and Meg, Raoul bent forward and kissed his mother's cheek.

"You look wonderful, Mother," he said, and then he turned to Meg. "Mother and Father, this is Meg Giry, a very dear friend of mine. Meg, this is my parents."

"It is an honour, Monsieur," Meg said and courtsied to the Vicomte.

He took her hand. "We are very happy to have such a lovely lady at our table today, Mademoiselle," he said and kissed her hand.

Meg laughed. "You flatter me, Monsiuer." She then turned to the Vicomtesse. "Madame," she said and began to courtsie, but was stopped by a light hand on her arm.

"Come now, Mademoiselle, we have met before, there is no need for such politeness." She bent forward and kissed Meg's cheeks. "It is very nice to see you again, dear."

Meg was stunned at first, but she quickly recovered and smiled at the Vicomtesse. "Thank you so much, Madame."

The Vicomtesse turned to Raoul. "Do you mind if I borrow her for a moment, Raoul, dear? I would like to introduce her to some of our guests."

Raoul looked at Meg. "If it is allright with Meg, I do not see why not."

Meg smiled at him, and then she was pulled away by the Vicomtesse.

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**Author's notes:** REVIEW! Please...


	8. Nightmare

**Author's notes:** New chapter up, as you see. I think this story might be drawing to an end soon, but I won't promise anything. My head doesn't always work the way I want it to. But, in writing moment, and with the story I've planned this far, I have about three, maybe four chapters left. But it can very well be more.

And as always, I'd like to thank my lovely **Eruliss**, who once again sent me a lovely review. Thank you so much, honey. And also a big thank you to **EriksIngenue**. Your review really made me happy. Thank you so much. And, as for one of your questions:I have oneone chapter planned (and written too) that is very M, but it's in the end of the story. I just thought I should rate M from the beginning, to be on the safe side.

And as for the rest of you. If you don't review and tell me what you think, I won't know what's good and what's bad, so please, review. It keeps me going lol

Enjoy!

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**Part VII**

Raoul stood in the doorway along with his parents, watching the last carriage disappear down the road. The evening had been nice, far better than he'd thought, but he hadn't seen much of Meg. She hadn't been sitting next to him at the dinner, and afterwards, when the dancing began and he'd hoped to get one or two with her, she'd immediately been seized by someone else, and hadn't been free for the rest of the evening. This bothered Raoul more than he thought it would. More than it should.

When the carriage was out of sight, him and his parents went inside his father's study.

"Did you have a nice evening, Raoul?" his mother asked and sank down in an armchair with far less grace then suitable for a vicomtesse.

Raoul nodded and lent against the wall. "Yes, very much so. I must admit though, it was much more pleasant than I thought it would be."

His mother smiled. "I saw that Meg danced the night away. It seems at least the men approved of her."

Raoul heared a roaring laughter from his father. "Such an angel as she? They would not dare disapprove, my dear!"

The vicomtesse laughed too, and suddenly they heared a knock on the door. Meg entered and curtsied.

"I hope I am not interrupting?" she smiled.

"Of course not, my dear." Raoul's father was at his feet in an instant. "Please, have a seat."

Meg shoke her head. "No, thank you, Monsieur. I just came here to bid you a good night and to thank you for the lovely evening."

"It was our pleasure, dear." The vicomtesse rose and walked over to Meg and took her hand. "A good night to you too, and I hope I will see you at breakfast?"

Meg nodded and kissed the vicomtesse's cheeks.

Raoul cleared his throat. "Sleep seems very tempting now, yes. I will escort Meg to her room, and then I, too, will retire. Goodnight Mother." He kissed her cheek. "Father."

The vicmote had sat down again and had his head in a book. He simply waved a hand at Raoul to show he'd heared.

Meg took Raoul's arm, and they left the room.

"What do you think of it all now?" Raoul asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

Meg squeezed his arm. "I had a very nice evening, thank you so much for inviting me."

"So you will perhaps...join me again, sometime?" Raoul hesitantly asked and led her up the stairs.

Meg nodded eagerly. "Yes, I would like that very much." She, too, hesitated. "But where were you all evening? I was hoping to dance with you." She immediately slapped her free hand over her mouth. "That was really not suitable to say, I am so sorry!"

Raoul laughed. "Never appologize for being yourself in my company, Meg. Very few people are, you know. The only one who ever was was Christine," he added after a while, then fell silent.

Meg was also silent, which surprised Raoul. He'd thought she'd come with some witty coment to make him laugh, or say something that would bring him back to happiness again. But she just walked silently beside him, and after what seemed like an awkward eternity, they reached the door of her room for the night. Meg let go off his arm, but hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, which reminded him of another time when she'd done just that. In the Opera, that day when she'd found him crying on the roof. Raoul couldn't believe that was only two weeks ago.

"Well, goodnight, then." Meg's voice pulled him back to the present.

"Yes...yes, goodnight, Meg."

_Should I kiss her cheek, like I do with Mother? I can't believe I am even thinking about doing it, I should just do it._ Raoul bent forward, but Meg had already went inside her room and closed the door. A few words that were not suitable for sensitive ears escaped his mouth as he walked over to his own room, across the hall.

When he lay in his bed a few minutes later, he let his mind wander freely, excpecting thoughts of Christine to rush into his head, but none did, to his surprise. Instead he saw Meg's face in his mind, and a feeling of guilt came to him. _Why?_ he thought. _Why do I care so much for this girl? Why do I want people to approve of her, and why do I want her to approve of me?_ He rememebered when Meg had taken care of him when Christine had left with the Phantom. And when she'd found him crying on the roof. And when they'd been down in the lair together. _Why does she do all these things for me? She doesn't have to, she doesn't own me anything. _But instead of feeling grateful towards her, Raoul just became angry. _I don't want her help, I can manage on my own. I'm a grown-up man, I don't need the help of girl._ He angrily pushed Meg's picture out of his mind and forced himself to remember Christine. _She, on the other hand, owns me a great deal. I was prepared to marry her, a singer, a nobody, and she left me._ But he couldn't remember Christine all that clealy anymore. He couldn't remember her voice, or the way she moved. All he saw was the picture on his mantlepiece. _To hell with it all,_ he thought angrily. _It's just because I haven't seen her for a while._

Sleep slowly crept into Raoul's mind, making him stop thinking at all. He let it happen, feeling emotionally drained. When he finally drifted away, his last thought was not of Christine.

* * *

_The snare was around his neck, cutting off his breathing. That voice, that horrible voice that she had once called wonderful, was filling the air, making everybody else fall silent, forcing everybody to listen. This was the end, he knew it, and they knew it. The snare was tightening, the darkness lowering itself over his mind. It shouldn't be like this, he knew it. The ending was suppose to be another. But there was nowhere out of this. The curtain was falling.

* * *

_

Meg slept light that night, and that was fortunate, or else she wouldn't have heard the muffled noises from the room on the other side of the hall. But as it was now, they woke her from her light slumber.

At first she thought the sounds reminded her of those she'd heared through the walls of the Opera some evenings, but she immediately shoke off that thought. Who would, in that case, be making the noises? The vicomte and his wife had their rooms on the other side of the house, and the servants would by all means be more discreet then to do it in a corridor outside occupied bedrooms. And in this corridor, Meg new, there were two occupied ones. Her's and Raoul's. The thought of Raoul having someone in his room made Meg feel almost sick, but her mind at once started thinking about the matter. Who could be in his room? A lady from the dinner, who had come back and sneaked in when everybody else had gone to sleep? Or, God forbid, Christine? But no, that was a ridiculous thought. Christine was with The Phantom, and Heavens knew where.

Meg didn't like to eavesdrop, but she realized she wouldn't be able to sleep untill she found out what those sounds were. Reluctantly she slid out of her bed and threw a shawl over her shoulders.

The hall was dark and silent now that the sounds had stopped. Meg hadn't realized up untill now how big this hall was. How would she ever be able to find Raoul's room? But then the sounds started again, only more silent this time. They seemed to come from a room across the hall, a bit down. Meg rushed over to the door and opened it a little.

Raoul was alone on his bed, tossing and turning, hitting his hand against the walls and moaning. _He is having a nightmare_, Meg realized, and closed the door and ran over to his bed. She had forgotten everything about what was proper and what her mother might say.

She climbed into the bed and laid down next to Raoul. She pulled him close to her and caressed his hair.

"Sch, it's just a nightmare, Raoul. Wake up." She could feel him calm down a little. His body became more relaxed and his breathing calmer. She continued whispering calming words and caressing his hair, and after a while his breathing was back to normal.

When Meg was sure the nightmare was gone, she gently began loosing her grip around him, preparing to go back to her own bed. But to her surprise she felt Raoul's arms wind their way around her waist.

"Please, don't go," he whispered in her ear. "I feel much safer with you lying next to me."

Meg nodded and turned and kissed his cheek. "Of course I'll stay if you want me to."

But Raoul didn't hear her, he'd already gone back to sleep.

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**Author's notes:** REVIEW!


	9. What am I?

**Author's notes: **This chapter should have been up yesterday, but I didn't have time, and it wasn't really finished. But here it is. And for those of you who wonder, I have about 5, 6 chapters left or something like that. It depends on which ending I choose.

**EriksIngenue & Eruliss:** How will I ever be able to thank you two for all the reviews you give me? You really keep me going when this story isn't working. Thank you so much.**Eruliss**, you might not know where this is going, but trust me, I do. **EriksIngenue**, if you ask really nice, I might let them dance together later on lol

**Unmasked writer:** New reviewers, we love! Welcome to the club of, let's see, three members lol. I really appreciated your review, so keep them coming. And I'm pleasedyou like the story, that's why I write it lol

So, people, enjoy!

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****Part VIII**

When Raoul woke up the next morning, he was alone in his bed. But the side Meg had been sleeping on was still warm, so she couldn't have been gone for long.

Raoul remembered the whole night very clearly. Even the nightmare seemed very real. He'd been back in The Phantom's lair, bound once again to the bars of the gate, with the snare around his neck. But this time he hadn't been saved by Christine. The Phantom had just kept pulling the rope, and Raoul had almost felt the life leave his body.

But then someone else had stepped into the dream. Someone with a gentle touch and a soothing voice, who'd chased away the horrors of the past and made him wake up.

When he'd found himself once again wrapped in Meg's arms, he'd been pleasantly surprised, just like last time, and he'd asked her to stay when she'd wanted to leave. And she had stayed. She had put her arms around him and they'd gone back to sleep. And the nightmare hadn't returned.

The grandfather clock by the wall struck half past seven, and Raoul wondered where Meg was. He felt too rested to go back to sleep, and he missed her company.

Suddenly he heared a door close not far away. Raoul shot out of bed and ran silently over to his door. He opened it just a little and looked outside. Meg was walking down the hall, fully dressed and wearing a cloak. _Where's she going?_ Raoul wondered. He dressed quickly and went into the hall, but Meg had already disappeared. He walked down the hall in the same direction she had, and when he threw a quick glance out a window, he saw her strolling over the frostcovered lawns. Raoul ran through the silent house and out into the chilly morning. But he slowed down when he saw Meg, trying to catch his breath.

She was sitting on a bench, facing the pale, rising sun, but without seeing it. Raoul wondered what she was thinking about. He slowly approached her, and when he was just a few feet behind her, he cleared his throat. Meg started and looked behind her, but when she saw it was Raoul, she smiled.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," Raoul answered and went and sat down next to her. "How come you are up this early?"

Meg shrugged her shoulders. "I was unable to sleep, and I needed to think." She looked back at the sun and was silent for quite a while before she said, "What am I to you, Raoul?"

Raoul was thrown back by the question, he had really not been expecting it. He looked curiously at Meg. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Meg began and turned to look at him. "Am I your friend, your beloved, you mistress?" Raoul saw the helpless look in her eyes before she turned away again. "Or am I simply an amusing intermezzo before someone new, and better, comes along?"

The question made Raoul feel guilty. He hadn't known their friendship, or whatever they had, ment so much to her.

He furrowed his brow as he said, "To tell you the truth, Meg, I have not given it a thought. I have just been playing along, doing what have felt good at the moment." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed it, and smiled at her when she turned around and looked at him. "And being with you have felt right, Meg. You have made me happy. So I would say that you are very much my friend. My best friend."

Meg smiled back at him, and then Raoul did something that surprised even himself. He bent forward and gave her a hug.

* * *

Meg felt tears burn at the backs of her eyelids. But friend wasn't that bad.

* * *

Raoul drove Meg back to the Opera later that day. They sat in companionable silence most of the way, both of them too tired to say anything. When they arrived, they were met in the foyer by Madame Giry.

"Dear Meg, I am so happy you are back." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "I trust you had a pleasant stay?"

Meg nodded. "Yes, it was wonderful. Monsieur le Vicomte and Madame were very good to me."

As if suddenly realizing he was in the room, Madame Giry turned to Raoul. "Thank you for inviting my daughter, Monsieur."

"It was my pleasure, Madame." Raoul flashed her a smile, but the balletmistress didn't move a muscle. Instead she just gave him a quizical look and turned to Meg again. "The managers have decided on a new piece," she informed, with a hint of disapproval in her voice. "They will announce it in the auditorium at five o'clock tonight."

Meg raised a questioning eyesbrow towards her mother. "I suppose you already know which one it is."

"Of course I do." Madame Giry sounded a little bit offended. "Now if you will excuse me, Monsieur, I have other business to attend to." Raoul nodded, and the balletmistress turned to her daughter. "Meg, dearest, you might want to make yourself ready for the meeting, you have but an hour." And with that, she made a move that might have been a half hearted curtsey to Raoul, and disappeared up the stairs.

Meg shoke her head. "You have to excuse Maman, Raoul, she does not believe in titles."

Raoul laughed. "She is much excused. Now I think I would like to talk to the managers while I am here. Would you accept an escort to your room?" He offered his arm to her. Meg laughed softly and took it, and together they walked up the stairs towards her room.

"Which opera do you think the managers have decided on?" Meg asked as they turned a corner.

Raoul shoke his head. "I have one or two ideas, but I will not guess. When I talked to them a few days ago, they were deciding between _Orfeus_ and _Carmen_, but they might just as well have chosen another one."

Meg nodded. "I do not think we have performed either of those two." They walked in silence for some time, but then she said, "Actually, I would much rather perform a ballet. It is more expensive, and it takes much longer to rehearse, but I am a dancer, not an actress." Her voice had grown louder and louder as she spoke, but now she lowered it again. "You do understand, don't you?"

Raoul nodded and squeezed her arm. "Of course I do. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be seen. And you are wonderfully talented, Meg, you could go far."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you so much for saying that, Raoul." They had reached Meg's room, and she let go off his arm. "And thank you for walking me here."

Seized by a sudden impulse, Raoul bent forward and kissed her forehead. "Don't mention it," he said, and then he left, leaving Meg standing outside her room with a big grin on her face.

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**Author's notes:** I guess this is pretty unnecessary, because I don't seem to get more reviews because I write it, but remember, itkeeps me going, and to make the story better, I need to know what you think. So,

REVIEW!


	10. Carmen

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from The Phantom of the Opera, and the lyriclines belong to Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe.

**Author's notes:** Yes, I know, this has taken really long, once again.This chapter almost killed me, I didn't get any inspiration. It might, if you ask me,be a little boring, as most of the chaptershave beenlately, but I promise some action soon lol

And I can't believe my luck. I got four reviews on the last chapter, which is more than I'vegotten in a long time. So, over to the thank you:s.

**EriksIngenue:** You're right, I do care for this story, I love it, it's my baby. Which I feel like killing sometimes, but don't worry, I won't. I'll keep it up 'till the end lol And I hope you like my choice of opera, I do, it fitted the story.

**Whatanoddgirl:** I'm not in the mood of abandoning this story right now, in fact, I can assure you that won't ever happen. I hate it when other authors do that to me, so I won't do it to my readers.

**Kittyhiime**: That was what I had in mind when I posted this story in the beginning, to write something that hadn't been done...so many times. And this far I think it's worked. Glad you like the story lol

**Eruliss:** Won't you ever tire of reviewing? Please, don't. When everybody else abandons me, I need you lol I'm happy to hear that things are getting clearer for you, even though it's nice to confuse people sometimes.

Thanks once again to everybody, and I hope you like this chap that took me two weeks to write.

Enjoy!

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**Part IX**

The managers weren't in their offices, and since Raoul had thing to discuss with them, he had no choice but to wait untill the meeting in the auditorium.

Patience wasn't Raoul's strong side, and he irritably paced the corridors of the Opera, waiting for the meeting to start.

An hour can sometimes seem very short, sometimes very long. In Raoul's case, it was the latter. He couldn't think of anything to do except walk down the unfamiliar halls, towards an unexcisting goal.

As he walked, he remembered last time he'd walked like this. That was a little over three weeks ago. He'd been here to talk to Messieurs André and Firmin that time too, and afterwards he'd walked through the corridors, thinking about Christine. The wounds from her leaving had been very new then, and he hadn't even been able to think her name without feeling the need to cry.

Raoul thought about Christine now too, but without feeling the immediate pain in his chest, and it confused him. She'd been his fiancé, they'd loved each other. Was he starting to forget her, get over her? Wasn't that the same thing as stop loving her? And wasn't that betrayal?

Raoul had, in his mindless walking, reached the entrance to the chapel. It had been one of Christine's favourite spots in the Opera, you'd always been able to find her there when you'd been looking for her.

Raoul walked down the stonesteps and entered the small room. It still looked the same, with the big window in front of him, and the painting of angels on his right, and he wondered how that could be. His whole life had changed in one night, how could everthing else remain the way it had always been?

He sat down in the window and lent his head against the wall. There was still a candle where Christine had used to light one for her father. No-one had removed it, and somehow, Raoul found that very sad.

As he sat there in the window, watching but not seeing that candle, Raoul expected memories of his lost love to come crashing down upon him, pains to rip his mind apart, but nothing happened. He just heared her voice in his head, an echo from the past.

_Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn. We've passed the point of no return._

And it just made him tired.

* * *

All trough the meeting, Raoul stood in the back of the auditorium, listening to what the managers said. As he'd feared, they'd chosen _Carmen_.

They went throught the cast-list, which had been settled beforehand, without auditions. Raoul couldn't say he'd heared of any of the singers before, only the ones who'd been at the Opera before the fire. La Carlotta was not to perform at all, a mezzo-soprano from the chorus was to sing Carmen, and as expected, Meg didn't have a major part. She was a dancer, not a singer, so she'd been given the part as a factoryworker.

After the meeting, Raoul waited untill the auditorium was empty before he approached the managers. They had lingered to discuss the Opera with Monsieur Reyer, who was still conducting the orchestra.

"Messieurs, a minute of your time, if you please," Raoul said when the conductor left.

"My dear Vicomte, I thought I saw you in the back." Monsieur Firmin shoke his hand. "How do you like our choice of Opera?"

"That was what I needed to talk to you about." Raoul sat down in a chair, and the managers followed his example. "Do you really think this is a suitable piece to perform?" The men in front of him wore identical puzzled expressions. Raoul restrained a sigh. "Do you not think it is too...bold? I suppose you know what happened at the Comique?"

Monsieur André nodded. "Yes, of course we do, we are in the opera business, Monsieur. And the happenings at the Comique is one of the reasons we chose this opera. People have heared about it, it is free publicity."

Raoul shoke his head in disbelief. "But, Messsieurs, you cannot be serious. Performing _Carmen_ will cause another scandal, and this time we can't afford that." Raoul tried to stay calm, but it was hard. He was growing frustrated because he had to make them understand. But it seemed they were just as determined to make him see their point.

"We do not think it will, sir," Monsieur André answered in a very calm voice, which was unusual for him. "You forget about the time we are living in. People love a freakshow. At the very least, this whole Phantom-story is proof of that."

"Indeed it is," Monsieur Firmin continued. "The seats were sold out twice as fast as usual when people heared that The Phantom himself had written that terrible _Don Juan Triumphant_. And therefor we think _Carmen_ is a very wise decision, Monsieur."

Raoul was about to argue them,but then he hesitated, and instead lent back in his seat to think about what the managers had said. They could actually be right. In fact, he knew they were. How reluctant he might be to admit it, people did love freakshows. Not that _Carmen_ was a freakshow, it was a masterpiece, but a very bold one. But that might just be what the Opéra Populaire needed.

Still, he had to ask, "What are you planning to do if this does not work out?"

The managers looked ateach other, and then Monsieur Firmin answered, "That, Monsieur, is something we hope won't happen."

Raoul nodded. Not what he wanted to hear, but what he'd expected. He rose from his chair, and the managers did the same.

"Gentlemen, I trust you to make the right decision. I can garantee you that you have my family's support in this question." He nodded towards them. "Good day."

He hurridly left the auditorium. He had to keep in mind that he was just financially supporting this place. It was the Messieurs André and Firmin's Opera, and it was their decisions to make. If Raoul didn't approve, all he could do was tell them, and hope they listened. But it was not his Opera!

He almost ran down the stairs in his hurry to get away, a hurry he couldn't quite explain. But when he reached the foot of the stairs, he heared someone call his name. He turned around and saw Meg standing at the top of the stairs.

"I saw you at the meeting," she said when she'ddescended the stairs andreached him. "Has anything happened?"

Raoul shoke his head. "No, I just had to talk to the managers about their choice of opera."

Meg raised an eyebrow. "You do not approve?"

"I did not, I thought it was too bold to perform such a piece as _Carmen_, but they made me change my mind."

"Too bold?"

Raoul looked at his watch, and then back at Meg. "I have to go home, Meg, but if you have the time, you could walk with me."

Meg nodded. "Will you wait here, while I get my cloak?"

Raoul shoke his head and draped his coat over her shoulders. "Borrow this."

"But do you not need it yourself?" Meg tried to protest.

Raoul shoke his head. "Not more than you."

Meg smiled. "Allright then." She took his arm. "Now tell me about _Carmen_."

Raoul told a valet to send his carriage back home, and he and Meg walked out the front doors and down the steps.

"About six years ago, _Carmen_ was performed for the first time ever at the Opéra-Comique," Raoul began, "And it did not go very well." He hesitated. "Do you know what _Carmen_ is about?"

Meg shoke her head.

"Then I have to tell you, very briefly though. Carmen is a gypsy-woman who falls in love with a soldier called don José. He leaves his fiancé and deserts the army for her, but then Carmen falls in love with another man instead. Don José returns to his fiancé, but when he meets Carmen again, he tries to make her come back to him. When she refuses, he kills her."

Meg gasped. "Oh, that is so sad, and so beautiful." Raoul smiled. Meg really had a sense for the dramatic. She continued, "And I think I can see what is so bold about it."

"You can?" Raoul asked as they turned a corner and entered the finer quarters of Paris.

"Yes. I cannot see anything wrong about Carmen's actions, because if she does not love this don José she should not be with him, but it is not very appropriate to act like that, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Raoul agreed. "And do you understand why I did not want this performed at the Populaire?"

Meg nodded. "Yes, but I do not think it will be quite as bad as you think."

"Thought," Raoul interrupted. "I agreed to it."

"But that does not mean you had to change your mind, does it?" Meg said with a smile.

Raoul laughed. "You saw right through me. Yes, I am still very hesitant about it, but it is not my opera."

"No, it isn't," Meg said and squeezed his arm. "Shall we talk about something else, before this gives you a headache?"

The walk to his home was far too short, Raoul thought. He could have walked around with Meg for hours, but by the time they reached his house, he was shivering from the cold, and much to his chagrin, Meg noticed.

"You should have told me you were cold," she said and handed him his coat. "We could have taken turns using this on the way."

Raoul laughed. "As a gentleman, it was my duty to lend you my coat, my lady," he said as he held the front door for her.

"And I thought you did it because you wanted to." Meg looked around the hall. "Do you live here alone?" she asked.

"Yes." Raoul handed his coat to a maid. "It is my parents' house but they almost never leave their country house, so I live here alone most of the time." He hesitated. Would it seem too straightforward to ask her to stay for dinner? He asked her anyway.

"Is it that late?" Meg threw a glance at the clock on the table, and then she shoke her head. "I would really like to, but I have to get back, before Maman misses me."

Raoul nodded. "I shall have my carriage drive you back, then."

"No, I can walk, it is no far," Meg protested, but Raoul had already given the order.

"I can't have you walk back without a coat, you would catch a cold in time for the performance, and we can't have that, can we?" He held the door for her again, and they walked out on the front steps. "How about dinner tomorrow than?"

Meg thought about this for a moment, and then she nodded. "I would like that very much." The carriage pulled up in front of them, and Raoul opened the door for her.

"I will pick you up at the Opera at seven then," Raoul said through the window when he'd closed the door behind her. "Goodnight, Meg."

"Goodnight."

Raoul watched the carriage disappear down the street, and then he went inside again. That night he didn't have nightmares about The Phantom killing him, just about Meg on the bench in his parents' garden.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I had a thought. If I wrote a cliffhanger, do you think I'd get more reviews? But that won't happen, cliffies aren't my thing. I'll just have to beg instead. Please review, so I know what you think, and what I can make better.


	11. Dance with me

**Author's notes:** I guess I once again have to excuse the dealy, but this chapter wouldn't work with me. But at least now I can tell you all that the story is written. I'm done with it, the end is near lol I won't tell how many chapters that's left, but it's not many. I'm really excited about the ending, I'm really fond of it actually. And I hope you'll like it to. But this chapter is not the ending, I wouldn't be that cruel lol

Enjoy!

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**Part X**

The following evening, Raoul was walking down the corridors of the Opera towards Meg's room. When he'd entered the Opera five minutes earlier, he'd found himself very early, so he thought he could just as well pick her up at her room. He'd been there twice before, so finding the way wouldn't be a problem, he thought. But after having taken the wrong turn at least once, he had no idea where he was. The corridor was unfamiliar to him, which didn't say much, because he didn't know many of the Opera's corridors. He could find his way to the auditorium and the manager's offices, but that was about it.

He looked at the doors leading out of the corridor. They were numbered, the door closest to Raoul had number 48. _At least I'm in the livingquarters, then,_ Raoul thought. _Now all I have to do is remember which number Meg's door had._ He kept walking down the corridor, but when it ended it split in three new corridors, one ahead and one on every side. _I won't ever get out of here, this will be my grave,_ Raoul thought sarcasticly. But then he heared someone comming down the hall on his left. _I'll just have to swollow my pride and ask for help, then_, he thought, and turned towards the sound.

"Looking for something?" Meg asked, a big smile gracing her lips.

Raoul laughed. "How come you always find me in the most embarrassing situations?" He kissed her hand. "You look wonderful." And she did, wearing a pale yellow dress and her hair pinned up on her head.

"Thank you," she said and took his arm. "Do you have any idea where you are?"

Raoul smiled and shook his head. "Not a single clue."

She laughed, and in less than no time she'd guided him through the labyrinth that was the Opera, and Raoul found himself once again in the foyer.

"How do you know your way around here?" he asked in wonder.

Meg shrugged her shoulders as they walked out through the front doors. "I grew up here, this Opera was my playground ever since I learned to walk."

Raoul's carriage was parked outside the entrance, but Meg hesitated.

"Can't we walk to where ever we are going? It was so nice yesterday."

Raoul nodded. "Allright." He turned to the driver. "You can take the rest of the night off, Pierre, I will take a cab home."

"Thank you, sir." The driver touched his hat, and then sat the carriage moving towards Raoul's house.

Raoul helped Meg put on her cloak, and then he took her arm. "Have you been rehearsing today?" he asked as he led the way towards the restaurant he'd chosen for the evening.

Meg nodded. "Yes, we had a tablereading where everybody read their parts, and the orchestra played the music since they have been rehearsing a bit longer."

"Did it sound good?" Raoul was very interested in hearing about the rehearsal.

"Yes, I think it did. Of course they still have a lot to practise on, and then we have to learn out parts properly, but I think it will turn out extremly well in the end." She was silent for a moment. "The managers have been very lucky," she said in a low voice.

"How come?"

"They have a very talented ensemble, maybe even better than the one they had before."

Raoul was genuinly surprised at hearing this. "What makes you say that?"

"None of us is very famous, except for maybe Maman and Monsieur Reyer, but they do not really count, and perhaps a few of the ballet- and chorusgirls, but I would rather call them notorious. But they are all wonderfully talented, many, almost all, of them. They just need to show it."

Raoul smiled. "You are too modest, Meg." She looked at him with puzzled eyes. "I would say you are quite famous too. There is not many in this town who have not seen Meg Giry dance." _And many who'd happily have her do a private show for them, _he thought darkly, and wondered why that thought made him jealous.

Meg blushed. "I think you are exaggerating," she mumbled.

"No, I'm not, I am perfectly serious. Meg, you are known."

When hearing her feeble protests, Raoul decided that she wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said, and the rest of the way to the restaurant, they talked about other things.

When they were just a block away from the restaurant, Meg suddenly stopped dead on the sidewalk.

"Now I know where you are taking me, Raoul, and you can't possibly do that."

Raoul was amused by her reaction. "Why not?" he asked.

Meg stared wide eyed at him, and gestured wildly with her hand as she spoke. "It is the most expensive restaurant in Paris! How would I ever be able to repay that?"

Raoul moved towards her and took her hands. "I invited you to dinner, Meg," he said, putting emphasis on the second word. "I do not want you to repay me."

Meg looked helpless. "But-" she stuttered.

Raoul shook his head. "No 'but's', Meg. Can't you just enjoy the evening?" She still looked doubtful. "Please?" he pleaded. "For me?"

And she smiled. "Allright, for you then." She took his arm again, and they proceeded into the restaurant.

_L'Italie en Paris_ was the latest fashion-restaurant among Paris society, recently refered to in _Le Figaro_ as "the most beautiful place, with the best food, Paris has ever seen". The owner, Signore Luciano Sabatini, was originaly from Venice, but had moved to Paris when he'd married a French actress. To support them and their children, he'd opened a restaurant with a mix of French and Italien food, and it's become a tremendous success.

Raoul had reserved a table there as soon as he'd settled his plans with Meg. The restaurant was always full these days, but with a title such as Raoul's, getting a table for the evening wasn't difficult.

As he walked through the room with Meg at his arm, Raoul couldn't help but notice how peolpe, especially men, looked at her. _Perhaps it's her dress,_ he thought. It certainly did show, in a room furnished with dark red, green and brown, where people mostly wore darkcolored clothes. Or perhaps it was her appearance. She looked very confident, with her head held high, and very...happy. Raoul was pleased, because he knew that it was he who made her feel that way.

They were seated at a table by the window, and the waiter gave them their menus. Meg opened hers immediately.

"Don't you dare!" Raoul said as he saw her eyes move to the right, towards the prices. "I am paying, Meg, so order anything you like."

She looked alomst angry. "But I can't let you pay it all, have you seen how much the food costs?"

Raoul had to smile at that. "Meg, I think you are forgetting who you are talking to. I am a vicomte, I have more money than I need."

Meg blushed slightly but didn't look away. "But there has to be a better way to spend them than on me."

"I doubt that." Raoul picked up his menu. "Now chose what you want to eat, and do not bother what it costs."

Meg mumble something inaudible, but picked up her menu too. They ordered their food, and when it came, they were once again discussing the rehearsal, and Meg was once again smiling.

"I know I said I would rather have done a ballet," she said enthusiasticly. "But this is so exciting. Just the mere thought of being back on stage makes me want to sing."

Raoul laughed. "I am glad you are happy. And I actually think the managers are planning on a ballet after this."

Meg became, if possible, even more excited. "Really? Which one?"

Raoul shoke his head and took a sip of his wine. "That is too early for me to know, but hopefully the will have decided that in time for the opening of _Carmen_."

They realized that they'd forgotten to eat, and they ate up in silence. The food really was a delicious as _Le Figaro_ had said, and they hardly spoke during the rest of the meal, only enjoyed their food. While they waited for their desserts to come, Raoul suddenly became aware of the band playing in the next room, and when he looked through the doorway, he saw couples dancing. He remembered that he'd wanted to dance with Meg at his parents' party two night ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to, and he decided to do that now instead. He rose from his seat and stood beside Meg.

"Would you care to dance, Mademoiselle?" he asked and offered her his arm.

"I'd be delighted to, Monsieur," she answered and took his arm. Together they walked on to the dancefloor, and Raoul laced his arm around her waist and began to move her.

"I can't remember the last time I danced like this," Meg said after a moments silence, and Raoul couldn't tell wether she looked happy or sad. "Maybe I never have?"

She looked away from him and placed her head on his shoulder, and Raoul had the feeling that she'd ment more with her words than what she'd said.

He softly began to hum along with the song, and caressed her back. He didn't know why she was sad, or if she even was, but he wanted to make it go away.

After a while, Meg lifted her head from his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me." She hesitated. "Maybe we should return to our desserts?"

Raoul nodded and took her hand, and in silence they returned to their table. The air was tense, and none of them could say why. They ate up, Raoul payed the bill and they left the restaurant, everything in silence. But out on the sidewalk, Meg turned to Raoul.

"We can't let our lovely evening end like this, Raoul," she said. "I do not know what happened, but we should not let that worry us."

"Of course not," Raoul agreed. He raised a hand to stop a passing cab. "I shall give you a ride back to the Opera."

Meg sighed. "Can't you just stop spending money on me?"

Raoul shoke his head. "Had it been earlier in the evening, we would have walked, but now we are very likely to get robbed." He opened the door of the cab. "So get in!"

Meg smiled and did a deep curtsey. "Yes, sir!" she said and got into the carriage, shaking with laughter.

"The Opéra Populaire, please," Raoul said to the driver, then followed Meg inside and sat down on the opposite seat. He bent forward and took her hands. "So, did you have a nice evening?" he asked.

"Yes, it was far better than I could ever have imagined," Meg answered and smiled softly. "Is it too bold to ask if we could do it again?" And she lowered her gaze.

Raoul laughed. "How about every night?"

Meg looked at him again. "That would be wonderful."

* * *

And so they did. Raoul and Meg spent every moment they could spare together. In the mornings and afternoons, Meg would go to rehearsals and Raoul would go to meetings, and in the evenings, he would come to the Opera, sometimes to pick her up for a dinner at a restaurant, or sometimes for a party along with his parents and friends. They'd come to accept Meg, and all though many still wondered, as she'd done once herself, what the relationship was between her and Raoul, they were nothing but friendly towards her. And even though Meg enjoyed their company and all the fancy dinners, she sometimes asked Raoul if they could just stay in his house or in her room at the Opera, just the two of them. And he always agreed when she asked that, because despite what people thought about him, Raoul prefered to stay at home.

It was soon, very soon, known by everyone at the Opera that Meg Giry was seeing the Vicomte de Chagny. Both Raoul and Meg had tried to avoid this, Meg because she knew she'd be refered to as "Christine's replacement", and Raoul because of the same reason. But the balletgirls where curious little brats, and they couldn't let such juicy gossip pass unnoticed. Madame Giry did her best to make them keep silent, but her being Meg's mother only added fuel to the fire.

During these two weeks, Raoul found that he thought less and less of Christine, and that this didn't bother him at all. Being with Meg made him forget the past, even though she was a part of it.

The day before the opening night, they were sitting in Meg's room. She had been rehearsing all day, and was now standing in front of her mirror in a dressinggown, combing her hair. She had become so comfortable in Raoul's presence that she no longer cared what she wore when it was just the two of them.

Raoul was sitting in the armchair beside the fire. He had taken off both his jacket and waistcoat andwas halflying in the chair. His mother would not had appreciated that.

They were talking about that day's rehearsal, which should have been the last before the première. But a few of the costumes had not been finished, and many of the actors had performed so poorly that Monsieur Reyer and Madame Giry had decided to do a last minute rehearsal the following morning.

Raoul hadn't been present at the rehearsal, but as always, he got all the details from Meg.

"Usually, I do not understand Maman when she points out mistakes I can't see, and demand extra rehearsals, but today I could really see her point," Meg said, looking into the mirror while pulling the brush through her golden curls. "You should have seen us, Raoul. For a final rehearsal, is was a disaster. It was even worse than when La Carlotte rueled."

Raoul laughed. He'd seen the former leading diva in action off stage, and he couldn't understand how anything sould be worse than that.

"Yes, Meg, you have said this about three times already," he said, meeting her amused look in the mirror.

"Would you rather talk about something else?" she asked in a challenging voice.

Raoul shrugged his shoulders. "You pick a subject," he said and made an inviting move with his hand.

Meg got a look in her eyes that Raoul didn't like, and she put the brush down. "_Don Juan Triumphant_," she said and turned around and looked directly at him. "Tell me what happened that night."

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**Author's notes:** A very feeble try to write a cliffhanger. But this was the best way to end this chapter, andI hope I don't make anyone want to kill me lol I tried to put abit more action into this chapter, since many of you had asked for that, but I don't know if I succeeded. But I promise a lot of action in the next chapters.

This chapter is dedicated to **EriksIngenue**, because you wanted them to dance together.

Ah, and one more thing. Can anyone figure out what Meg ment by "Maybe I never have."?


	12. Everything gone wrong

**Author's notes: **Ok, so I guess that now that the story is coming to an end, I can't keep away from it. This is the chapter responsible for the rating, so sensetive people, be ware! lol I'm really grateful to those two who reviewed the last chapter (you know who you are), I guess I managed that cliffy then lol And I very much encourage everybody to review this chapter, because I'm really nervous about it, some may think I took it a little too far this time.

Enjoy!

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****Part XI**

Of all the things he'd expected her to say, that was not one of them. And for a moment he was just staring at her, not knowing what to say, while thoughts rushed through his head. He'd forgotten Meg didn't know about that. He'd been so eager to leave it all behid him that he hadn't even cared to tell her about it. But now he was put face to face with the past once more, and did he want to tell her about it? He should, and he knew it. She deserved to know, she'd been there for him all this time.

So he told her. He told her the whole embarrassing story, from the moment when he and Madame Giry had left Meg standing backstage, to when he woke up in Madame Giry's apartment. Meg didn't say one word while he spoke, just sat on the floor at his feet and held his hand. Raoul himself told the story in a voice stripped off all emotions, and he didn't shed one tear the whole time. When he finished talking, Meg just looked at him for a long time without saying anything. Raoul couldn't read the look in her eyes, but it was close to expressionless.

After a moment, she spoke, "It wasn't so hard to talk about it, was it?" Raoul shook his head and Meg continued, "I actually think you need to talk about it, and think about it. Do not push it away, that will only make it worse."

Raoul smiled and pulled his fingers through her hair. "You are so sweet to try to help me, Meg, but I think I am a hopeless case."

Meg shook her head. "No, you're not, you just have to realize that." She rose. "I have to talk to Maman about tomorrow. Will you wait here?"

Raoul nodded, and Meg left the room, still wearing only her dressing gown. It was a Friday evening, not many people were left in the Opera.

When he was left alone, Raoul's thoughts immediately returned to what he and Meg had been talking about. He knew she was right. It wouldn't hurt to talk about it, or think about it, but it was just such an embarrassing moment in Raoul's life. It had all been just a big failure. He hadn't been able so protect or save the woman he loved, she'd had to do it herself. And Raoul had no doubt what so ever, that if Christine hadn't kissed The Phantom, he would have been killed without mercy. And to add more to the pain, when Christine had had to save herself, Raoul hadn't even been able make her stay with him. Despite everything that the monster had done to her, she'd wanted to stay with him.

Raoul angrily rose from the chair and began pacing the room. He was a big failure, he'd failed and The Phantom had succeeded. And now, more than a month afterwards, he hadn't even managed to hunt him down. He hadn't even tried to.

He sat down in the chair again.

"There has to be some way to find them," he thought aloud. "Someone must know where they are." He put his head in his hands and began searching through all the events that had occured since he came here in the first place. And suddenly his head flew up. _Madame Giry!_ She'd saved The Phantom when they'd both just been children, she'd said so herself. And she'd covered for him ever since. She'd let him get away with everything he'd done in the Opera, and Raoul was quite sure that if her precious Phantom's life had been threatened again, she would save him again. No matter who was hurt.

Raoul heared the door open, and he rose and pulled Meg inside and closed the door behind her. She scanned his face with worried eyes.

"What has happened to make you this excited, Raoul?"

"I had a thought, Meg." He let go of her and began pacing the room again. "You know that they just disappeared, without a single trace," he said, not bothering to explain who he was talking about. "Isn't that a little hard? The news about what he'd done were all over Paris in no time, there's no way they could have gotten out unseen."

"So?" Meg, who was leaning against the door, raised her eyebrows.

"So, someone had to help them. Someone who knew the Opera like their own pocket, and who'd saved him before." Raoul stopped walking and looked at her. "Your mother."

Meg just stared at him with her mouth wide open. "Do you have any idea what you are saying, Raoul?" she asked when she'd recovered. "You are accusing my mother of hiding a criminal."

Raoul nodded, and even though he saw the doubtful and pained look in her eyes, he couldn't feel sorry for her, or understand her.

Meg walked over to the chair and sat down, staring at him in disbelief. Raoul knelt before her and took her hands.

"I told you what happened that night, Meg, and you know as well as I do that they couldn't have gotten out without help. The police had every exit covered. And only a person who'd saved him before would do it again."

Meg squeezed his hands. "But Maman wouldn't help a criminal escape. There are many things-"

"Yes, she would," Raoul interrupted. "I am quite sure she thinks of him as her brother, and that she wants him to be happy."

Meg pulled her hands free from his grasp and stood up. "But she wouldn't if it took Christine's freedom away. And besides that, there are so many things in what you are saying that does not fit." She went and stood in the middle of the room with her back to Raoul.

Raoul also rose, but remained where he was. "How can you be so sure she didn't help him? How can you know she isn't working with this maniac, that she helped him manipulate Christine all along?"

Meg whirled around, her eyes burning with rage. "Because she is my mother! Because Christine was like a daughter to her too. Maman might think of him as her brother, but she wouldn't ever do anything to harm neither me nor Christine."

Raoul had never seen Meg this angry. She was yelling at him, a thing he'd never seen her do to anybody before, and that almost made him hold his tongue. But not quite.

"Then what if she too was manipulated by him?" he tried. "What if he had some catch on her that made her do whatever he-" Raoul was interrupted. Meg had thrown the brush across the room.

"Stop it, Raoul!" she screamed. "This conversation isn't at all about this, is it? You do not really believe in any of it, do you? You just need someone to blame for your own mistakes."

"What!" Now Raoul was becomming angry. Who the hell did she think she was talking to him like that?

"You couldn't keep Christine. She wanted to go with a deformed monster." Meg looked at him with pity in her eyes, all anger had vanished in an instant. "And you need someone to blame for that."

"Is there a point with your tale, Mademoiselle?" Raoul asked in a low threatening voice.

"Yes, there is, Raoul." Meg didn't seem to notice his anger, and that only made Raoul even more angry. "The point is that she went with him because she wanted to. She wanted to, and you know that. She would rather be with an ugly, middleaged criminal than with you. She didn't want you. She doesn't want you." Meg stopped talking when Raoul took a step towards her, but then she continued in as firm a voice as ever. "She won't some back, Raoul, no matter what you do."

Raoul couldn't believe what he was hearing. Meg couldn't be serious? But she was. She'd looked him straight in the eyes all the time, and she wasn't even looking away now, when she must know how badly she'd insulted, and hurt, him.

_She didn't want you. She doesn't want you. She won't come back._ Her words were drumming inside Raoul's head, making him almost insane. She was wrong! Christine did love him, she would come back!

Raoul stared at Meg for a moment, and then he slowly began walking towards her. He stopped merely inches away from her and looked down into her eyes. She was almost a head shorter than him, and if he wanted to, hurting her would be very easy. Raoul knew that, and when he saw fear pass across Meg's face, he knew that she knew too.

He slowly raised his hands and put them around her neck. Meg gripped his wrists, and Raoul saw panic in her eyes. He slowly hardened his grip around her small neck, and her hands around his wrists began to try to pull him away. He then eased his grip a little, but instead of letting go, he began caressing the soft skin behind her ears with his thumbs. He saw the confused look in her eyes, and then he bent down and pressed his lips against hers. At first she just stood completely still, taken aback by his actions, but then she began to try and pull back. But Raoul wasn't prepared to let her go, and pressed himself even closer to her. And after a moment, she gave in. She relaxed and let go of his wrists and instead slid her arms around his neck.

Raoul was surprised at how it felt. It wasn't any different from kissing Christine, and he closed his eyes and imagined that it was Christine who was now unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it out of his trousers.

Raoul loosened his grip around her neck and slid his hands over her shoulders under the robe. The skin was so soft, and Raoul thought he'd never get enough. He could feel her hands lightly move over his shoulders and chest, and before he knew what he was doing, he'd lifted her up and was carrying her to the bed, still with his eyes closed. He gently laid her down on the bed, imagining brown curls spred out over white pillows. The image was so real he almost opened his eyes, but her eager hands on his shoulders pulling him down stopped him. He settled himself between her legs and bent down and kissed her again. This time she allowed him to slid his tongue in between her lips, and he moaned thankfully.

Her hands travelled from his shoulders down to the closure of his trousers, and he eagerly helped her get them open. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and before he really knew what he was doing, he'd thrust himself inside her. He thought he might have heared her cry out, but he was too absorbed in the animalistic movements of thrusting in and out of her to really care.

Afterwards, he would remember that it'd gone very fast, and that he hadn't really known what'd happened. And he also remembered that, for a moment, he'd felt extremely relaxed, floating around in a nothingness without a thought in his head except how good it felt. But it ended very soon, as with everything good, and reality crept in and made him open his eyes. And he did not see brown curls and Christine's smiling face as he'd imagined, hoped and, for a moment, thought. No, he saw Meg, with her eyes tightly shut in what Raoul could only name as pain.

He was off the bed and grabbing his clothes before he even knew it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Meg sit up and pull the dressing gown shut around her.

"I'm sorry, Meg, so sorry," he stuttered as he searched for his jacket and cloak. They were hanging by the door, and he grabbed them and opened the door. "Please, just...forget this ever happened." He couldn't even look at her before he left her room.

"Raoul? Raoul, wait!" Meg called after him as the door slammed shut.

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**Author's notes:** I know, that last line's exactly like the one Christine calls after him in the movie, but it was so fitting right there. And did I go too far?

REVIEW!


	13. Christine

**Author's notes:** I'm back again, have you missed me? I'm ashamed over how long this took! I'm on summer-vac, I'm suppose to have all the time in the world. But noooo! I have to work. But here I am with another wonderful chapter, and I can happily (?)tell you all that there is only one more chapter after this. And then I'm through for this time. But not yet, I still have some reviwers to thank:

**DragonheartRAB: **Intense was just the feeling I wanted to create. And maybe a little confusion too. Because that was how Raoul was feeling. Confused and angry and...well, I don't know. And I can'tsay what Meg was feeling, that would spoil the rest of the story. But I promise, in the next, and last,chapter, I will answer every question you might have.

**Eruliss:** Well, I wouldn't say that Meg's questioning was good, not in this case, but I agree with you, she shouldn't just stand still with her mouth shut. And the drama was required, after all the dull chapters that I've put up lately.

**Pertie: **I'm glad you like the story, new readers are always nice lol Thanks so much for reviewing.

**EriksIngenue: **I'm glad you liked the R-stuff, I was really nervous about that. I didn't write it because I enjoyed it, but beacuse I wanted to show what an IDIOT Raoul is. But despite that, I like him. I'm the one who's made him dumb, you know? And I also want to thank you for the review on the last chapter. I guess I pretty much spoiled your view of Raoul as a gentleman now, didn't I? But this is the way it has to go, or else I wouldn't have a story.

**POTOFan:** Thanks for the reviee, but are you one of those who read this story because of the rating? That's not why I wrote it that way, to make people get off. But I'm happy all the same that you liked it lol

Ok, enough of that, on with the story!

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**Part XII**

On Friday evening a week later, Raoul was impatiently pacing the floor of his study. He'd been doing that for the past week, and his servants, had they been in the house to see him, would have told him to stop before he wore the carpet out.

Since the night he'd left Meg sitting alone on the bed, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. She'd been haunting him day and night, the memory of what he'd done to her making it impossible for him to forget.

He hadn't seen her since that night. He hadn't even gone to the reopening of the Opera and the première of _Carmen_. He'd made his brother go instead as a representative of the family. Of course he'd asked why, but Raoul had just said that he wasn't feeling well. And that was true. He wasn't feeling well. He was feeling terrible. He'd made love to Meg, pretending she was Christine. That act didn't even deserve to be called "making love". He'd raped her. And even though Raoul knew he hadn't forced her, she hadn't been the one he'd thought about.

Raoul put all the blame for what'd happened on himself, he knew it was his fault. _Mostly_ his fault. He couldn't help but think that Meg was partly responsible too. She'd provoked him with her accusations. But now, afterwards, Raoul couldn't stop himself from wondering. Had there been any truth in what she'd said? At the time, he'd only been hurt by her words, but now, when he'd acctually taken time to think about it, he wondered if she hadn't been right about some things. Maybe Madame Giry was totally innocent. Maybe he'd just searched for a nonexisting scapegoat. Maybe he himself was to blame for what had happened that night in The Phantom's lair. Very well, if that was the case, Raoul could live with it. Given time, he could.

But he could not accept some of Meg's other accusations. Christine would come back to him! If, no, when, he found her, she would realize she did loved him, not someone almost three times her age. It had been some momentarily insanity that had made her reject him, probably caused by the events of that evening. When she realised her mistake and came back to him, he would forgive her, and they would go on with their lives together.

A knock on the front door interrupted his thoughts, and he looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven, who would be knocking at this hour? A crazy thought appeared in his mind. It might be Meg. But he immediately pushed that thought away, picked up his gun from a drawer and went to open the door. Meg wouldn't come to his house in the middle of the night. Especially not now.

Raoul slowly opened the door, and looked outside. Whoever he'e expected to see, the woman standing on the stairs was the last person in the world.

"Good evening, Raoul," Christine said softly. Raoul just stared at her, his mouth ajar. "Are you going to let me in, or keep me standing out here in the cold all night?" she asked with a smile.

Raoul immediately came to his senses. He put the gun on a table, held the door open for her and let her inside. He took her cloak and hung it over a chair, careful not to touch her more than necessary. As he followed her into the livingroom, he under his breath cursed himself and his bad manners. The woman of his dreams, whom he'd been longing for for the past weeks had been standing outside his door, wanting to be let in, and all he'd done was stare at her like a complete fool.

Christine walked over to the fire and held out her hands towards it, and Raoul realized she must be terribly cold. God knows how long she'd had to walk before she got here.

"Can...can I get you anything?" Raoul asked, feeling a bit awkward. "I am afraid the maid has gone for the day, but I think she might have left some tea..." His voice faded away.

"No, thank you, I am fine," Christine answered. "I will not be staying long, I have just come here to talk to you, Raoul."

Raoul felt his hope fade at her words, but it did not die. She was here, wasn't she? That was always a good start.

Christine sat down in a chair in front of the fire, and motioned to Raoul to sit down opposite from her. Raoul did so, looking at the floor. He tried hard, but he could not make himself move his gaze to her face. He was afraid that if he let himself really look at her, she would disappear.

"You will not like what I am about to say, Raoul," Christine began. "But I beg you to listen just the same." She fell silent, as if searching for the right words. "I have been watching you, Raoul, even since that night," she continued. "Erik told me of all the passageways within the Opera, and I have been using them to check upon you."

Raoul looked at her with puzzled eyes. "Erik?" he asked, but then he realized she must be talking about The Phantom. He motioned to her to continue.

"Yes, Erik," Christine said, a softness Raoul had never seen before coming over her face before she compsed herself. "I have been watching you, Raoul, and I can't have helped but notice your sorrow. And when I have listened to your talks with Meg, I have realized that I am the cause of your distress." She looked at him, as if waiting for him to comment, but when he remained silent, she bent forward and took his hand, and continued. "I never knew my actions would affect you this mu-"

"I loved you, Christine," Raoul interrupted. "And you left me. Without even explaining why." He couldn't bare to be that close to her anymore, so he pulled his hand free from her grasp and went past her to stand by the window with his back towards her.

"I know you did." He heared her turn around to look at him. "And I loved you too. But not enough. And I hadn't realized that untill that moment. Down in Erik's home, I realized that my love for you was that of a sister towards a brother, and that what I felt for Erik was real love."

Raoul spun around. "I could have given you the world, Christine!" He walked over to her chair and knelt in front of her, taking her hands. "Did you not see that?"

Christine smiled sadly and stroked his cheek. "I did know that. But to me, the world would not have been enough without Erik."

Raoul felt realization dawn upon him. "So you really do love him then?" Christine nodded, that strange softness coming over her again, but before she could speak, Raoul rose once again and walked over to stand by the window. "But why him?" he asked. "Why a monster and a murderer from the fifth cellar of an opera?" He turned around, too sad for tears, but crying inside. "Why not me?" he whispered.

Christine rose and came to stand beside him. Raoul could not look into her eyes, but instead looked at his reflection in the window. But Christine cupped his cheek and made him look at her.

"That is an impossible question, Raoul. We do not choose who to love." Raoul opened his mouth to question her, but she shook her head. "And do not ask me who I would have chosen, had I been able to. I do not know that." Raoul closed his mouth. Those were wiser words than he'd ever heared Christine speak before. He looked out the window again, not knowing what to say.

Christinewent and sat down in her chair again and Raoul followed, simply because he thought she might have something more to say. He sat down in the chair opposite from her and put his head in his hands.

"I think this might be needless to say, Raoul, but I will not come back to you. Meg told you that, but I think you need to hear it from me."

Raoul's head flew up and he looked wide eyed at her. "You...heared that?" he whispered.

Christine nodded. "Yes, I did, but nothing more, I swear. I left right after that." She paused. "I take it that was...fortunate?"

Raoul nodded, his head back in his hands. "Yes, very fortunate." Once again he'd been reminded of what he'd done to Meg. Would he ever be able to forgive himself?

Christine had been silent for quite some time when she spoke again. "Raoul?" She hesitated. "What is the relationship between you and Meg?"

Raoul looked up, started by her question. "We...we are friends. Why?"

Christine smiled at him, a reasuring smile that Raoul couldn't quite understand. "No, you are not," she said. "At least not to Meg."

Raoul only raised his eyesbrows in a questioning gesture, too tired to speak.

Christine once again bent forward and took his hands. "She loves you, Raoul."

He knew he was staring at her with his mouth wide open, but he could do nothing else. But after a moment of awkward silence, he tried his voice again.

"But, no! No, she can't. At least not now."

Christine nodded. "Yes, especially now. I have heared her cry herself to sleep every night for the past week, and during that time, you have never once been to visit her." Her tone was accusing, and Raoul suddenly felt guilty. Maybe it'd been wrong of him to stay away. But Meg couldn't miss him, not after what he'd done to her.

He shook his head to Christine. "No, Christine, you are wrong. After what...happened a week ago, she can't possibly neither love me nor miss me."

Christine squeezed his hands. "But she does, Raoul. She both loves you and misses you. How can you know when you have not been there to see her?"

Raoul simply shook his head again. They were both equally sure their point of view was right, and they could probably be up discussing it all night. Instead he focused on another matter.

"Why are you so determined to push me and Meg into each other's arms?" he asked, his own wording sending unpleasant shivers down his spine.

Christine smiled softly. "Because you are both very dear to me, and I have seen how happy you have both been in each other's company. You are good for-" She was interrupted by a clock strinking half past eleven. She slowly rose from her chair, and Raoul did the same. "I have to go now, Raoul, Erik is waiting for me." Raoul nodded, and in silence they walked to the door. Christine put on her cloak, and then she turned around and looked at him. "Remember what I said, Raoul, for your own happiness. I am not telling you to love her, but...just see her for her, and not for me. I will no longer be a part of your life, so do not hold on to something that can't be." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then walked out the door.

Raoul stood in silence on the stairs and watched her leave. She crossed the street and ran into a dark corner. And when a carriage with a lantern passed, Raoul thought he saw something white flicker in the dark. _If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you,_ he thought. And then he turned around and walked into his house again, not once looking back.

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**Author's notes:** You all know what I'm about to say, but let me just add that I'm on the alertlist of seven people, and only one of you reviewed the last chapter. Why not the rest of you? All it takeS is a few clicks on the mouse and keyboard, and then you're done. Is that so hard? I'd really appreciate it, you know. Well, anyway,

REVIEW!


	14. The End, or maybe the beginning?

**Author's notes:** Well, here I am for the final chapter of this wonderful story. It's much shorter than the others have been lately, but I hope you'll forgive, I didn't want to write unnecessary things when this is the grand finale (well, I don't know about grand, but it is the end).

Do I have to even mention how thrilled I am over all the reviews I got on the last chapter? When I'd gotten four reviews, I thought, "Well, this is all I usually get, and I'm happy with that," but then they just didn't stop coming. And here I am, with nine reviewers to thank:

**whatanoddgirl:** So glad to have you back on the list lol And I totally agree with you, Raoul is a jerk. But I hope I can change your opinion in this chapter, and if not, well, I guess he'll just have to reamin a stupid git. But he isn't. He's just very, very, very, very miserbal. And thinking way to much about Christine. Well, anyway, I'm glad you like Meg, and thanks for the review.

**BringMeLife:** Well, at least you reviewed on the last chapter, and that means you've read the story, so I'm happy. And I'm also glad you like it.

**EriksIngenue:** It's fun to read your reviews, they're unusual lol And are you serioulsy reading this to your friend? Wow, that's awsome! And I'm glad you liked the twist. I wanted to write something that wasn't all that predictable, and I guess I succeded. But the problem with writing is that you don't want to write clichés, but everything that's good is cliché, and therefor predictable, so... Well, anyway, thanks so much.

**DragonheartRAB:** Did you think I wouldn't update? I'm ashamed, did it take that long for the last chapter? And this one probably took even longer. But, here I am again, with the final chapter. I was so happy to read that you love the story, that really warmed my heart lol Sorry I have to end this. But thanks for the review.

**poetzproblem:** Thanks for poiting out the error, even though I haven't changed them yet. English isn't my mother language, that might excuse some of the faults, but I'll take a look at it and try to change it. Constructive criticism is good lol Thanks for the review.¨

**phicaddictdpiratephantomprsnya: **Your name is really hard to type, did you know that? Well, anyway, thanks for that short but straightforward review.

**ThePhantomsShadow:** It never fails to surprise me when people says that I've made them change their thinking about Raoul and Meg together. I would have thought that was a pretty obvious pairing, but when you think about it, everyone just wants to read about Erik and Christine. Or just Erik. Well, anyway, thanks so much for the review, and it's always nice to be on someone's alertlist.

**Eruliss: **Why is he so hung on to Christine? Honey, because he's MAD! And maybe just a little pathetic lol I don't know about starting a new story after this, but I'll probably be demanded to write a sequel, because many people won't like the end. Thanks for the review, and I hope you get your happy ending.

**Fitzybabe08:** Another one who's mind I've changed! I love it!I can't see why people don't like Raoul. But then, he gets the girl in the movie and the book. And we'll see about that realize his love part, maybe, maybe not. Thanks for the review!

And now, my darlings, on with the show! Enjoy!

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**Part XIII**

Raoul lay awake the whole night thinking. Thinking about what he and Meg had said to each other a week ago, about everything they'd ever said to each other, about what he'd done to her. And, most importantly, about what Christine had said to him. Her visit that evening had been so brief, Raoul doubted it had even taken place. He had no proof she'd been there, for all he knew, it could all have been a dream. But, dream or not, it'd been good to see her. It'd been good to hear what she'd had to say, even though it had definitely not been what he'd wanted to hear. He'd wanted to hear her say that she loved him, and that she was sorry she'd ever left him.

But she hadn't. She'd said she was happy she'd left him, and that she didn't regret anything. And she'd asked him to forget her. That was what bothered Raoul the most. Meg had asked him for weeks to do so, but he'd refused, believing Christine still loved him. But now that she'd asked him to do so herself, he'd began to think that maybe he should. After all, if she didn't love him, there was no point in holding on. If she was happy with The Phantom, then Raoul should be happy for them. He was no more then twenty, he had his whole life in front of him. He'd find love again. It'd take time, but he would. Or so he tried to tell himself.

The next day he was once again pacing around his house, restless and irritated. Christine's advice that he should go and see Meg was still fresh in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could no longer deny that he wanted to see her, but he was afraid of the rejection that would surely come. She would refuse to talk to him and slam the door shut in his face. And Raoul wouldn't be able to handle that. He was plagued by his bad conscious, and the only way he could make that go away, was if he asked Meg for an appology. But she wouldn't except that. He'd have to beg her on his knees for forgiveness. And even though Christine had said Meg missed him, Raoul found it very hard to believe that she would forgive him just like that. What he'd done to her was unforgiveable, even if she did indeed love him, and even more if she did. Which she didn't.

The day passed by slowly. The arms of the clocks seemed to have stopped at one. The servants walked around on tiptoe, afraid to disturb their master. They served him his food in his study, and then they left him alone. Raoul was happy with that, he needed to think, even though it seemed to be the only thing he'd done for the past week.

Sometime in the afternoon, a knock came on the door.

"Enter," Raoul said from the chair behind his desk.

The maid entered, carrying a rose in her hand. "This arrived just now, sir."

Raoul waved at her to come over and give it to him. She did, curtsied and left the room.

The rose was blood red, with a white ribbon around it. The ribbon was tied together with...Raoul gasped. Tied together with the ribbon was the engagement ring he'd given to Christine, and dangling from it was a card.

_What are you waiting for? You only live once._

He flew up from his chair and ran over to the door. "Gabrielle!" he called after the maid. She came out from the kitchen, a worried look in her eyes.

"Yes, sir?"

"Who delivered this rose?" Raoul asked, waving the flower in front of her.

"I do not know, sir. The door bell rang, I opened, and it was lying in the stairs."

Raoul felt like shaking her, but instead he just turned on his heel and went back into the study. He sat down behind his desk again and turned the rose in his hand. _Christine placed this on the stairs,_ he thought. _Who else could have done it?_

He looked at the card again. He had few doubts that anyone but Christine had put the rose outside his door, and when he looked at the writing on the card, every doubt that was left disappeared. He knew what she'd ment by those words. She wanted him to go and see Meg, tonight.

Raoul looked at the clock in the corner. It was five. If he hurried, he'd make it to the Opera in time for that night's performance.

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Raoul had trouble concentrating on the performance that evening. All he did was search for Meg in every new scene, and when she wasn't on stage, he turned his hands in his knee in desperation. What madness had made him come here without even thinking about it first? It was crazy! He'd found a rose on his dorrstep with some words written on white paper, and all of a sudden he'd decided to go and see Meg. She wouldn't want to see him. She's refuse to talk to him and slam the door shut in his face. _But at least you've tried then_, he conscious said.

When the performance ended, Raoul found it impossible to move from his chair. He tried to tell his feet to move him, but they just wouldn't listen. _I'm just waiting to be sure Meg really is in her room when I get there_, he tried to tell himself. But when he'd sat there for almost forty minutes, he couldn't come up with any more desperate lies, and finally rose from the chair.

It took him another half hour to get to her room. He had to stop at every corner and curse himself, because now he'd abandoned every try to lie to himself. But somehow his better part won and he found himself stadning outside Meg's door. He looked down at the rose he was still holding in his hand. _This truly is madness,_ he thought, and then raised his hand and knocked.

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**Author's notes:** Well, believe it or not, but this is the end. No more Raoul and Meg. Well, maybe if you ask nicely, I'll write a sequel. But don't get your hopes up too high!

I hope you all have liked reading this story as much as I've liked writing it, and thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you know who you are. I just have to send special thanks to **Eruliss** and **EriksIngenue**, who's reviewed every singel chapter! I love you guys so much, thanks for every singel word lol

And that all from me, drive saftely everyone!

Love, Sofia


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